A school bus carrying about sixty children has crashed into a truck outside of Jerusalem. Both Palestinian and Israeli emergency crews responded to the accident scene. The bus was completely destroyed in the accident, according to rescue workers, with children’s backpacks and shoes scattered everywhere. Many have said that anyone surviving the accident was simply a miracle.
There were three children that died at the scene of the accident, while another five died after arriving at local hospitals. The bus caught on fire immediately after the accident, so many of the children that died were badly burned. It’s difficult for authorities to make identifications and because of this, there have not been any names released so far. DNA testing will be required for some of the identifications.
There were at least 35 children injured in the accident and one doctor on the scene said it looked like a battlefield. Fathi Abu Mughli, PA Health Minister, said that it took several minutes for Israeli authorities to decide to help and he believes that played a role in some of the deaths. The accident occurred in area C, which is where Israel has both civilian and security control. Palestinians have limited movement in area C.
However, Israeli authorities said that it was the Israeli military that asked for both Palestinian and Israeli police and rescue services to come to the scene. Within thirty minutes of the call for assistance, officials said that all of the injured had been taken by ambulance to the hospitals.
Both Israeli and Palestinian authorities are investigating the accident. The bus was headed form the Shuafat refugee camp to a day trip to a park near Ramallah. The truck was traveling in the opposite direction. The truck hit the bus head-on and forced the bus off the road.
