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Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot Received 33 of the Train Crash Victims
"Seven people were killed and 195 were injured Tuesday afternoon when a passenger train collided with a truck in a sunflower field near Kibbutz Revadim in the northern Negev.
Of the injured, 26 suffered serious injuries. Rescue forces left the scene of the crash Tuesday night, saying there were no more people trapped in the rubble. Earlier, there were reports of five people who had been missing since the accident and who may have been trapped in the wreckage.
Israel Railways officials told Israel Radio reporters before dawn on Wednesday that the conductor who was killed in the crash has been identified as Leonid Turk, 46, of Ramle. Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit said Tuesday night an investigative committee was being established to examine the circumstances of the collision. The investigation will focus on the truck driver, who drove onto the railroad tracks as the train was approaching.
Sheetrit called the collision a "frightening accident and a serious disaster." He said the committee would submit its findings within a week.
An initial police investigation indicates that the truck driver did not obey a stop sign or a subsequent warning sign and drove onto the railroad tracks from a temporary dirt road. The train conductor sounded the horn in warning when the truck was about 20 meters away from the train, which had nine full cars and was traveling at a high speed.
The truck, which was filled with coal dust, was split into three by the force of the collision, and the first car of the train was crushed and overturned in a nearby ditch.
"As soon as we heard a strong blow, the train began to toss right and left," said Efraim Yanku, a paramedic for the Magen David Adom rescue service who was on the train during the crash. "When it overturned, everything filled with smoke and dust. People flew into the [first] car, were frightened, screamed. I screamed at everyone to lower their heads. I went through the car to certify the level of injuries and contacted Magen David Adom to tell them about the incident."
Train passengers said the first car was full because at the beginning of the journey the air conditioning was not working in the rear of the train. "Even after the air conditioning began working, many people decided to stay in that car," said Einat, a passenger who was treated for shock after surviving the crash.
"People flew into the [first] car, began bleeding; pieces of glass from the windows flew on them, there was a lot of chaos," said another passenger, who was lightly hurt in the crash.
Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi ordered his own investigation into the accident, which he called a "serious disaster," and said he expects findings within the next few days. In the coming days, the police will try to answer several basic questions, including whether the dirt track used by the truck driver was an official road.
Sixty ambulances and first-aid vehicles treated victims at the scene, and many of the casualties were airlifted in Israel Defense Forces helicopters to 10 hospitals in the south and center of the country, and in Jerusalem. The IDF Home Command sent its search-and-rescue team, aided by dogs, to look for casualties amid the rubble of the first car of the train, where most of the fatalities were located. Silence crept through the chaos for a few moments as rescue workers listened for sounds of life.
Those hurt in the crash were rushed to ten hospitals in the south, center and Jerusalem areas. Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot received 33 of the injured; 13 of the injured arrived at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer; Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Karem, Jerusalem admitted 27 injured people; three others arrived at Hadassah University Hospital at Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem; Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem received 16 of the injured; another 10 were sent to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon; five were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah; Assaf Harofeh Hospital at the Tzrifin army base received 13 of the injured; Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva received 44 of the crash victims; Barzilai Medical Center received another 31."
Source: At least seven dead in train crash in northern Negev, 189 injured. Haaretz.com (22 june 2005) [FullText]
Of the injured, 26 suffered serious injuries. Rescue forces left the scene of the crash Tuesday night, saying there were no more people trapped in the rubble. Earlier, there were reports of five people who had been missing since the accident and who may have been trapped in the wreckage.
Israel Railways officials told Israel Radio reporters before dawn on Wednesday that the conductor who was killed in the crash has been identified as Leonid Turk, 46, of Ramle. Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit said Tuesday night an investigative committee was being established to examine the circumstances of the collision. The investigation will focus on the truck driver, who drove onto the railroad tracks as the train was approaching.
Sheetrit called the collision a "frightening accident and a serious disaster." He said the committee would submit its findings within a week.
An initial police investigation indicates that the truck driver did not obey a stop sign or a subsequent warning sign and drove onto the railroad tracks from a temporary dirt road. The train conductor sounded the horn in warning when the truck was about 20 meters away from the train, which had nine full cars and was traveling at a high speed.
The truck, which was filled with coal dust, was split into three by the force of the collision, and the first car of the train was crushed and overturned in a nearby ditch.
"As soon as we heard a strong blow, the train began to toss right and left," said Efraim Yanku, a paramedic for the Magen David Adom rescue service who was on the train during the crash. "When it overturned, everything filled with smoke and dust. People flew into the [first] car, were frightened, screamed. I screamed at everyone to lower their heads. I went through the car to certify the level of injuries and contacted Magen David Adom to tell them about the incident."
Train passengers said the first car was full because at the beginning of the journey the air conditioning was not working in the rear of the train. "Even after the air conditioning began working, many people decided to stay in that car," said Einat, a passenger who was treated for shock after surviving the crash.
"People flew into the [first] car, began bleeding; pieces of glass from the windows flew on them, there was a lot of chaos," said another passenger, who was lightly hurt in the crash.
Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi ordered his own investigation into the accident, which he called a "serious disaster," and said he expects findings within the next few days. In the coming days, the police will try to answer several basic questions, including whether the dirt track used by the truck driver was an official road.
Sixty ambulances and first-aid vehicles treated victims at the scene, and many of the casualties were airlifted in Israel Defense Forces helicopters to 10 hospitals in the south and center of the country, and in Jerusalem. The IDF Home Command sent its search-and-rescue team, aided by dogs, to look for casualties amid the rubble of the first car of the train, where most of the fatalities were located. Silence crept through the chaos for a few moments as rescue workers listened for sounds of life.
Those hurt in the crash were rushed to ten hospitals in the south, center and Jerusalem areas. Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot received 33 of the injured; 13 of the injured arrived at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer; Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Karem, Jerusalem admitted 27 injured people; three others arrived at Hadassah University Hospital at Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem; Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem received 16 of the injured; another 10 were sent to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon; five were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah; Assaf Harofeh Hospital at the Tzrifin army base received 13 of the injured; Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva received 44 of the crash victims; Barzilai Medical Center received another 31."
Source: At least seven dead in train crash in northern Negev, 189 injured. Haaretz.com (22 june 2005) [FullText]
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