Itongadol.- Five people died in a large-scale traffic accident on Highway 1, between the Latrun and Anava interchanges, in which nine other people were wounded, one in critical condition.
At least three of the dead are said to be children. Among the wounded one was in critical condition, another in serious condition, three moderately wounded, and the rest lightly injured.
In the crash a truck and bus collided, leading to the large number of wounded. The bus was identified as being of the 402 line heading from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak, which left the capital at 5:40 p.m.
Magen David Adom (MDA) has declared the crash a mass-casualty incident, and large medical forces have been dispatched to the site. All of the wounded have been evacuated to the hospital.
Egged said in a statement that the bus apparently hit the truck which was standing on the side of the road but still jutting out into the traffic lane. The driver seems to have not noticed that the truck was sticking out into his lane, according to Egged, which noted the circumstances will be investigated.
The driver of the truck, an Arab resident of eastern Jerusalem aged in his 40s, has been taken in for questioning.
Ichud B\’Ichud medical volunteer Daniel Ben-David said, "when I reached the scene I came across a serious crash involving an Egged bus and a truck."
"Some of the bus passengers were trapped and unconscious, and more than 20 additional wounded were conscious, I asked for help from additional volunteers," added Ben-David.
"At this point the forces are still streaming into the area to help with initial medical treatment for the wounded, some of whom are still trapped in the bus."