What caused the Eilat Bus Crash?

Last update - 16:56 17/12/2008       
Mofaz: Dispute between bus drivers definitely caused fatal Eilat crash
By Haaretz Staff
 

 

Senior police officials said Wednesday that there was no evidence that the fatal bus crash on the road to Eilat Tuesday, which left 24 Russian tourists dead and dozens hurt, was caused by a dispute between two bus drivers. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, however, insisted that the accident was preceded by an argument which led to the tragic turn of events.

 

"There was an argument at the checkpoint," Mofaz reiterated at a press conference held in response to doubts voiced by police officials. "I don't intend to conceal anything, the debate in the media isn't necessary," he added. He had said earlier that two bus drivers argued between themselves over who would pass the northern checkpoint on the road and that the dispute continued in the attempts at overtaking.

 

"As the transportation minister I have my own considerations, I heard the testimony and I consulted with experts," Mofaz said in an interview with Israel Radio. "At this time, the conclusions aren't final, and we're still waiting for the final conclusions. However, the evidence clearly points to an argument, a lack of judgment and careless driving with disregard to road conditions."
 
However, Chief Superintendent Noam Biegansky, who heads the team investigating the accident, told Israel Radio that there was no evidence to support Mofaz' assertion. "I don't really have an explanation," he said, "It's not something that I learned from the evidence we have gathered so far ? not a wild speeding contest, no reckless driving and nothing of the sort."

 

Rami Vazana, the driver of the bus that was allegedly overtaken, also discounted Mofaz's accusation, saying: "There was no dispute."

 

At least 24 people were killed and 31 injured in the worst traffic accident in Israeli history when a bus veered off the road between Eilat and Ovda International Airport on Tuesday and plunged into a deep ravine. Many of the victims were Russian tourists.

 

Mofaz's comments came after the driver of a bus that crashed said he lost control of the vehicle when an object fell on him while overtaking.

 

According to initial reports, the bus driver, 39-year-old Edward Gelfond of Petah Tikva, may have been speeding when he tried to overtake a bus in front of him and lost control of the vehicle. The bus crashed through a safety barrier and fell 60 meters down a deep slope, overturning a few times before settling on its side.

 

Gelfond is said to have 22 previous traffic violations, though his driver's license was valid.

 

Israel Air Force helicopters were quickly scrambled to airlift the survivors to Yoseftal, Soroka and Hadassah Ein Karem medical centers.

 

The bus was carrying a group of Russian travel agents, mostly women, who had only just landed in Israel for an eight-day promotional tour of the country. It was part of a convoy that included two other buses traveling on the meandering road toward the resort town Eliat on the Red Sea coast.

 

"I was on duty at the station when we received the call," said Gabi Brivo, the head of the Magen David Adom ambulance service in Eilat. "Within minutes we were at the scene and saw the bus that had fallen down the slope. There were dozens of dead and injured that were thrown out the broken windows laying on the slope. First we attended to the injured and carried them down the slope to the bottom of the wadi.

 

"We evacuated them by the severity of their injuries. We carried out 15 resuscitations and managed to save a few lives. Meanwhile, dozens of ambulances arrived on the scene. It was the worst accident I've ever seen in my career."

 

Vazana, the driver of the bus that Gelfond tried to overtake, reconstructed the moments leading to the accident.

 

"He was in front of me in the beginning," Vazana recalled. "When we reached the Netafim roadblock he was held up. One of the soldiers boarded the bus to examination and gave me the go-ahead first. I began to drive down the descending road slowly and carefully, as you should.

 

"Meanwhile, the bus behind me tried to overtake me. But the road began to bend and he couldn't make the turn. He crashed into the safety barrier and plunged down the cliff. I stopped the bus and three of us went down carrying bottles of water. It was a terrible sight. We left the water bottles there and went back up to the buses because our passengers were in a terrible panic and wanted me to take them to their hotels. We took them to their hotels and that was that."

 

Sami Gonen, the driver of a bus that was traveling in the opposite direction, said Gelfond's bus would have crashed into him if it had not swerved off the road.

 

"About 3 P.M. I was driving up from Eilat to Ovda on Road 12 when I saw a bus driven by Rami Vazana. Then the bus that fell into the wadi began to overtake him from the left and swerved off the road. If he had completed the turn he would have crashed into me. He didn't even manage to break."

 

Mofaz came to inspect the scene of the accident and criticized the courts for not being tough enough against traffic violators.

 

Standing beside the burned-out skeleton of the bus, Mofaz said that according to initial reports Gelfond and Vazana had a heated exchange of words at the Netafim roadblock, after which both began speeding.

 

"We still don't know what happened from that moment after the roadblock until the horrendous end here in the wadi," Mofaz said. "We will investigate the turn of events over the next few days."

 

Channel 2 news quoted Gelfond as saying from his hospital bed that he was not speeding and did not exceed the speed limit of 70 kilometers per hour.

 

Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, the chairman of the Zaka rescue service, said it was one of the worst accidents he had seen since 1989, when the 405 bus from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv drove off a sharp slope.

 

Giora Arkady, the head of the travel agency that organized the tour, sat behind the driver's seat and survived the crash. He was evacuated in relatively light condition to Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat.

 

"I sat behind the driver and I guess that's what saved me," Arkady said. "I was busy sorting documents and suddenly everything turned black. I found myself laying on the slope. Everything was black and quiet in the beginning and then I could hear the cries of the injured. I did not know the travel agents beforehand. They were all beautiful people. When I saw them on the slope, it was awful."

 

Arkady's wife Miriam arrived at the Eilat airport to meet her husband at the same time the accident occurred. "I got off the plane to the bus and on the way the driver said there was an accident. I got on the phone to Giora and managed to speak to him. He said he was okay." She drove to the scene and was reunited with Giora. They were flown together to Yoseftal Medical Center.