A forest fire in the Israeli Carmel Mountains, near Haifa, killed 40 prison guards who were traveling in a bus on Dec. 2.
The guards were on their way to the Damon Prison to help evacuate some 500 inmates from the affected area when their bus went up in flames, local Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported.
“The bus had no chance. They tried to escape but were burned alive. It was a horrific scene,” a spokesman from the fire brigade told the Jerusalem Post.
He added that the flames were far away from the street on which the vehicle was driving at its take-off, but the flames moved faster than the guards expected, covering a distance of 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) within nearly three minutes.
Amidst the heavy winds, firefighting crews on ground and air attempted to extinguish the blaze, which broke out around noon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the assistance of Russia, Greece, Italy, and Cyprus to deal with the disaster, according to BBC News.
The air in Binyamina area near Caramel was thick black cloud. Warnings have been issued to avoid inhaling of toxic smoke.
According to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), so far the fire had consumed about 6,000 acres.
About 14,000 residents, including at the University of Haifa, were evacuated. On Kibbutz Beit Oren houses went up in flames. Many citizens received the evacuation order by phone message.
The Home Front Command will recruit 200 firefighters with a special order to help the disaster area, according to a statement by Israel Defense Forces.
Policeman call the fire incident a “major disaster,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “The fire is continuing to spread and is endangering many areas.”
With additional reporting by Aviva Greenfeter and Dina Gordon in Israel.
The guards were on their way to the Damon Prison to help evacuate some 500 inmates from the affected area when their bus went up in flames, local Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported.
“The bus had no chance. They tried to escape but were burned alive. It was a horrific scene,” a spokesman from the fire brigade told the Jerusalem Post.
He added that the flames were far away from the street on which the vehicle was driving at its take-off, but the flames moved faster than the guards expected, covering a distance of 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) within nearly three minutes.
Amidst the heavy winds, firefighting crews on ground and air attempted to extinguish the blaze, which broke out around noon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the assistance of Russia, Greece, Italy, and Cyprus to deal with the disaster, according to BBC News.
The air in Binyamina area near Caramel was thick black cloud. Warnings have been issued to avoid inhaling of toxic smoke.
According to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), so far the fire had consumed about 6,000 acres.
About 14,000 residents, including at the University of Haifa, were evacuated. On Kibbutz Beit Oren houses went up in flames. Many citizens received the evacuation order by phone message.
The Home Front Command will recruit 200 firefighters with a special order to help the disaster area, according to a statement by Israel Defense Forces.
Policeman call the fire incident a “major disaster,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “The fire is continuing to spread and is endangering many areas.”
With additional reporting by Aviva Greenfeter and Dina Gordon in Israel.
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