Police continue the fatal accident accident near Ben Gurion Airport in which four people were killed • The driver, who was injured, has undergone an initial investigation • However, the possibility of the accident being investigated is a technical failure • Fatalities: bus passengers sitting in the front seats

• The scene of the accident at the "Checkpoint" junction // Photo: Yossi Zeliger

Police suspect that the bus driver involved in the fatal accident tonight (Sunday) at the "Checkpoint" intersection near Ben Gurion Airport has taken his eyes off the road. Four people and 18 injured, two of them in serious condition, were killed in the accident on Highway 40.

The police investigation is focused on distraction, and will see if the driver may have dropped his eyes off the road to cellphone as well as temporary slumber. However, technical failures will also be examined. The driver delivered an initial version of his treatment at Beilinson Hospital. It will be explored in detail later.

The dead are the bus occupants who sat in the two front-most seats on the right that absorbed the blow from the station whose concrete beams entered through the front window and side windows.

The disaster near Ben Gurion Airport: Crane was called to clear the wreck of the accident // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon

Those killed are a man aged 70 and three women aged 60, 50 and 30, from the bus. Central District Police Department Traffic Officer Lt. Hai Mizrahi said police are investigating the circumstances of the accident and are reportedly in an accident due to losing control.

The accident happened around 7 p.m. This is bus 947 that made its way from Haifa to Jerusalem. Suddenly the bus swerved and hit the power station at the side of the road. Large forces of MDA and fire fighters from Ayalon and Petah Tikva stations were called to rescue the casualties, some of whom were trapped in the wreck of the bus. The doctor, Shiba and Beilinson.

The scene of the accident at the "Checkpoint" junction // Photo: Yossi Zeliger

Nira Hajbi and Lior Tibib Rescue Union members said: "Due to the nature of the accident, the fire crews were working to rescue trapped persons. We provided initial assistance to passengers injured to varying degrees. The bus collapsed on the bus."

MDA paramedic Wavy Super said: "When I arrived, I saw a bus leaning on its side, a clock on shrubs and its roof with a large tundra. I did a quick scan of the scene, the fully conscious bus driver was trapped in the seat, six bus passengers lay trapped inside as they suffered various injuries and other injured in a light condition walked the scene. I started the initial medical screening to assess the degree of injury of the injured. Two severely injured, a woman about 60 and a young woman of 18, were rescued while undergoing medical treatment by the firefighters and were quickly transferred to ICU who were evacuated to the Sheba hospital. The wounded who walked around the scene were examined by MDA's additional staff and were evacuated to the nearby hospitals.

"This line is a ticking bomb"

For about an hour and a half, the rescue forces worked on removing dead bodies whose names were set on the spot. The road was closed to traffic by police for the purpose of extracting the casualties, removing the remains of the Atubus and investigating the accident along with the ZAKA mission at the scene.

The National Road Safety Authority reported that as a result of this accident, the number of fatalities on the country's roads has increased to 345 people since the beginning of the year. 35 more than in the same period last year. 34 of those killed so far are in accidents involving buses.

The organization of bus drivers in Israel from the National Histadrut, in response to the car accident near Ben Gurion Airport, said: "This is a shocking event on the line that drivers drive for three and a half hours in a row. Uninterrupted driving and no refreshment stations is a ticking bomb. We urge the Minister of Transport to adopt the conclusions of the organization of bus drivers in Israel and to do everything possible to prevent such shocking accidents.

The bus moments before the collision // Photo: Netivi Israel

Transport Minister Bezalel Smutritz arrived at the scene of the accident and said: "Praying for the wounded medicine and sending heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed, the accident will be investigated."