United Hatzalah volunteers continued treating a large number of injured Wednesday evening after a collision between a bus and a private car on Highway 89 near Hurfeish.
The incident involved a bus that flipped over on its side as well as a large van and a private car, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT and chapter head of the Ma’alot region Oshri Eliyahu reported from the scene.
Medical personnel were not immediately able to reach some of the injured who were trapped. Firefighters continued to work to extricate them from the wreckage.
Five people were killed, including four passengers in the private car and the bus driver. One of the victims was a five-year-old girl.
“Thirty-five victims were evacuated to hospitals, including three by helicopter to Ramban Hospital in Haifa and 32 lightly wounded to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya and Ziv Hospital in Safed,” the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical response service reported.
“The commercial van which had been severely damaged at the back was on the shoulder of the road, with approximately five unresponsive victims trapped inside,” MDA paramedic Kold Issa said.
United Hatzalah volunteer members of the Emergency Room Relief Project deployed to assist with the reception and triage of patients in Ziv Hospital, The Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, and Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Eliyahu added.
MDA reported its Blood Services provided 188 units of blood and blood products to northern Israeli hospitals for the victims of the accident.
Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit was also dispatched to provide emotional and psychological support, in addition to emergency medical services (EMS) that were active at the scene.
Gil Tanenbaum and TPS contributed to this report.
