Up to 30 Russian tourists die in Israel bus crash

A bus full of Russian tourists veered off a desert road in Israel and plunged down a ravine yesterday, killing up to 30 people and seriously injuring about a dozen more.

The crash, near the Sinai Desert border to the north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, was the worst road accident in Israel for years. Rescue services said 24 people, many of whom were Russians, were confirmed dead. The Russian ambassador said he had been told the toll was 30.

Soldiers, police and rescue workers rushed to the scene and army helicopters flew in to evacuate survivors, who had recently arrived in Israel for a winter break.

"I saw people flying out of the windows as the bus rolled down the slope," said one driver who witnessed the crash.

Bodies, baggage and wreckage were scattered down the steep slope beneath a winding highway, according to witnesses at the scene, where the tour bus lay on its side on the desert floor of a rocky canyon.

An Israeli officer shouted instructions through a bull-horn as stretcher teams laid out a line of white plastic body-bags. Army helicopters shuttled to and from the crash scene beyond nightfall, ferrying the worst of the injured to a hospital in Beersheba. Ambulances raced others into Eilat for treatment.

Israel's Airport Authority said the victims had just arrived from St Petersburg at nearby Ovda airport, which serves Eilat.

The Red Sea resort on the Gulf of Aqaba, at Israel's southern tip bordering Jordan and Egypt, is a popular destination for northern tourists seeking winter sunshine.

Russian authorities said they were sending two planes to Israel with relatives and specialist medical personnel.

"Tonight we plan to dispatch two emergency ministry aircraft to Israel. One plane will fly from Moscow to St Petersburg and then Eilat bringing relatives of those who suffered in the crash," a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry said.

"A cargo plane will head for Eilat as well. It will carry medical staff, psychologists, rescue workers and necessary medical equipment."