Policeman stands next to bombed bus
Photo: Motti Kimchi
'I am not a hero', says bus driver who saved his passengers from bomb
Michael Yagur ordered the dozen people on bus no. 240 to safety moments before bomb hidden in knapsack was detonated by sappers
It could have ended in disaster, but the sharp eyes of one passenger and the quick thinking of bus driver Michael Yagur prevented what could have been a terrible tragedy.
A bomb planted on board bus no. 240 as it made its way from Bat Yam to Bnei Brak was spotted by an alert passenger, and, thanks to Yagur, the 12 people on board were quickly sent to safety.
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"One of the passengers told me there was a bag on the bus. I asked who it belonged to but no one claimed it," Yagur recalled. "I ordered the passengers off at the next stop and about 10 minutes later the bus exploded."
But, Yagur told Ynet, "I am not a hero."
The bag holding the bomb was big and black, Yagur said, with zippers at the top and the bottom. It had been placed on a seat behind the rear door.
President Shimon Peres later phoned and thanked the bus driver and the passenger who discovered the explosive, saying their actions saved lives.
"The nation owes you a debt of gratitude and I would like to personally congratulate you for this act of bravery," Peres told bus driver Michael Yagur.
Yagur "displayed outstanding resourcefulness" in a situation where the timing was key, said Eitan Fiksman, a spokesman for Dan Bus Company, which runs the route. Yagur was the last off the bus and the bomb detonated immediately after he disembarked, Fiksman added.
The police say the foiled attack had a nationalistic motive.
Gilad Morag contributed to this report
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