25 Russian Tourists Killed in Bus Accident Near Eilat, Israel

Update: From the Jerusalem Post

Eyewitnesses on Wednesday appeared to back reports that a race between two tour bus was to blame for one of the buses tumbling into a ravine near Eilat the previous day, killing 25 Russian travel agents. At least 24 dead as tourist bus plunges into ravine near Eilat Ilana Yitzhaki, a marketing director for a hotel in which the passengers of the second bus are now staying, told Israel Radio that they had told hotel staff "about the game between the drivers all along the way - one overtaking the other, fooling around. [It was] something continuous." At a press conference at noon Wednesday,

Minister Shaul Mofaz repeated his assertion from the day before that the two drivers had argued over who would go through a checkpoint first, and that this then led them to try and compete against each other along the way. He said he was basing this assessment on the testimony of driver of the bus that crashed.

While Mofaz said that his conclusions were not final and that police were still investigating the incident, he stressed that "one does not need to be a great expert on transportation. From the facts we have right now, it seems clear that there was an argument, there was lack of judgment, there was wild behavior and irresponsibility that led to a manner of driving that was inappropriate to road conditions."

Russia sends planes carrying families, doctors to Israel Two government planes carrying casualties' relatives, physicians, medical equipment and rescue teams sent to Israel to assist in aftermath of fatal bus crash. Prime Minister Olmert says shocked by accident's terrible outcome The National Road Safety Authority reported that the driver who drove the bus that crashed on Tuesday near Eilat had 22 prior traffic offenses.The driver, 39, received the license to drive a bus in 2001. (Ilana Curiel)

Update: Fatal bus crash: Victims' bodies to be transported to forensics institute Israel News The bodies of the Russian tourists killed in the fatal bus crash north of Eilat Tuesday afternoon will be transported via plane to the Sde Dov airport in Tel Aviv and from there taken to the Abu Kabir Forensics Institute. Twenty-five people were killed in the accident and over 30 were injured. (Meital Yasur-Beit Or) Eyewitness to Eilat crash: Driver was speeding recklessly as he veered off road By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press Fatal bus crash: Livni speaks with St. Petersburg governor Foreign Minster Tzipi Livni spoke with the governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matviyenko and briefed her on the fatal bus crash near Eilat, which claimed the lives of 25 Russian citizens and left more than 30 injured. Livni provided Matviyenko with the details of the accident and stressed that the Foreign Ministry is willing to extend any assistance necessary to the casualties and the Russian authorities. (Roni Sofer) An eyewitness said the driver of a bus that crashed near Eilat on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, was speeding recklessly when he veered off the road. "The bus overtook in an incautious manner, while speeding, went out to overtake another bus - I saw him and he almost overtook me - suddenly turned left and then dropped," said the eyewitness, speaking to Israel Radio.

This appears to be the worst bus accident in Israel's history. All the passengers came from St. Petersburg Russia.