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| Israel tourist bus crash kills 24 | Israel tourist bus crash kills 24 |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A bus carrying Russian tourists has plunged into a ravine in southern Israel, killing at least 24 people, rescue workers say. | A bus carrying Russian tourists has plunged into a ravine in southern Israel, killing at least 24 people, rescue workers say. |
| More than 50 passengers were on the bus when it came off a desert road and rolled down a steep slope near the Red Sea resort of Eilat. | More than 50 passengers were on the bus when it came off a desert road and rolled down a steep slope near the Red Sea resort of Eilat. |
| Several of those hurt were said to be in a serious condition. | Several of those hurt were said to be in a serious condition. |
| The tourists had only just arrived and were being transported to Eilat from Ovda airport in the Negev desert. | The tourists had only just arrived and were being transported to Eilat from Ovda airport in the Negev desert. |
| The group had come from the Russian city of St Petersburg, local media reports said. | The group had come from the Russian city of St Petersburg, local media reports said. |
| Ambulances and several air force helicopters rushed to the site to evacuate the injured. In pictures: Israel bus crash | Ambulances and several air force helicopters rushed to the site to evacuate the injured. In pictures: Israel bus crash |
| Television footage showed the blue bus on its side at the bottom of the ravine. | |
| Some passengers were thrown from the bus as it rolled down the slope, a witness said. Luggage and wreckage lay strewn across the slope. | |
| Some of the casualties were taken to hospital in Eilat, where medical personnel attending a conference were drafted in to help out. Others were flown to the town of Beersheba, a police spokesman said. | |
| The Russian embassy in Tel Aviv said it had sent a representative to the scene of the accident. | The Russian embassy in Tel Aviv said it had sent a representative to the scene of the accident. |
| 'Overtook' | 'Overtook' |
| The BBC's Middle East correspondent Paul Wood says it is being seen as a tragic accident rather than any kind of attack. | The BBC's Middle East correspondent Paul Wood says it is being seen as a tragic accident rather than any kind of attack. |
| The road where the accident happened links Eilat, a popular holiday destination, with Ovda airport, some 50km (30 miles) away.The bus broke through a rail and rolled down a ravine, witnesses said. | |
| It crosses mountainous terrain and involves a series of hair-pin bends. | It crosses mountainous terrain and involves a series of hair-pin bends. |
| The driver of another bus said that the vehicle overtook him in a no-passing zone and then crashed through a guard rail, the Associated Press news agency reported. | The driver of another bus said that the vehicle overtook him in a no-passing zone and then crashed through a guard rail, the Associated Press news agency reported. |
| A taxi driver who saw the accident gave a similar account to Israeli public radio. | |
| "The driver of the bus tried to overtake another bus in a hair-pin curve and lost control of his vehicle," he said. |