HAIFA, Israel (AFP) – A devastating fire killed at least 40 people on Thursday when it ripped through a forest near Israel's northern city of Haifa, prompting urgent calls for international help to put out the blaze, which officials said was the worst blaze in Israel's 62-year history.
Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service initially said around 40 people had been killed, but later said they had recovered 22 bodies, with another 20 or so "missing" -- among them police and firefighters.
Police sources said the dead were prison guards who were on board a bus that was headed to evacuate prisoners from Damon jail in the middle of the Carmel national park. "All those who were killed were on board the bus. They were all prison guards," one source told AFP. Haifa's police chief was among those injured, with medical and police sources saying she was in "critical condition." |