The accident, considered one of the worse in Israel’s history, happened on the first rain of the season. But it was revealed Sunday that the stretch of the road was hazardous not only because the road needed repaving but because of a recent spill of tomato juice that had not yet been washed away.
There was no crash barrier on the uphill stretch of road, which some observers thought could have prevented the disaster. There is such a barrier on the downhill side.
The bus crashed near the village of Ilaboun, about a 20-minute drive from Tiberias.
The driver, Effi Takumi, 26, of Shoham, who was moderately injured, was being held on charges of reckless driving.
The bus had been taking a group of single men and women from Rishon Lezion, Kfar Sava, Tel Aviv, and elsewhere in the Dan area, on a day’s outing to the north, including a tour of the Golan.
Evacuation of the casualties was hampered by the fact that the bus ended up in a steep ditch, overturned on its roof. Motorists who had stopped to help were unable to do much more than stare down the incline.
Eli Peretz, head of Magen David Adom services in the Tiberias region, was among the first rescuers to arrive. “It was a terrible scene,” he said.
“Some of the casualties had been flung out of the bus and were scattered around nearby, and some were trapped inside. We worked together with the fire brigade but there were problems and it took time to release them,” Peretz said. “I had one incident that was worse than this — that was in the army, but that was during war.”
Prime Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement Saturday saying he was deeply saddened to hear of the horrible accident in the North. He sent his condolences to the families of those killed, and wished those who had been injured a speedy recovery. Barak said that every year, at the start of the winter, “we pay a dear price for human mistakes and disregard in general for the roads especially with the first rain.”