AT LEAST 24 people were killed when a tourist bus plunged into a ravine on a dangerous desert road close to the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat.
The bus was carrying 60 Russian tour guides on a professional scouting trip.
The tour guides had just landed at a nearby airport on a flight from St Petersburg and were on their way to Eilat in Israel’s southern tip.
More than 30 passengers were injured, most of them seriously.
According to a witness, the bus smashed through a crash barrier when the driver tried to overtake another bus, which was carrying passengers from the same flight.
It plunged some 40 feet, overturning repeatedly, the witness said.
The accident, one of the worst ever in Israel, occurred on a sharp curve in the road where overtaking is forbidden. A taxi driver travelling behind the bus said the driver was speeding.
A radio reporter likened the scene to a killing field, with bodies scattered everywhere.
Parts of the vehicle broke off as the bus rolled down the ravine.
Some passengers were flung from the windows.
Dozens of ambulances from throughout southern Israel rushed to the site, and the air force sent six helicopters to evacuate the seriously injured.
Soldiers from nearby desert bases were sent to help extricate at least six passengers who were trapped.
Forty doctors and nurses who were attending a medical conference in Eilat were ordered to the resort’s hospital to help medical staff treat the casualties.
Road safety campaigners in Israel called for seat belts to be made compulsory on buses, arguing that the casualty figure would have been much lower if the passengers had been strapped in.
The Russian embassy made plans to fly the bodies home.
Tens of thousands of Russian tourists, seeking a break in the sun away from harsh local winter, were due in Eilat over the winter holiday season.