Bus and Tractor Collision on Highway 25 Leaves Dozens Injured in Negev
Dozens were injured, including a bus driver in critical condition, in a severe collision between a bus and a tractor on Highway 25 in the Negev. Rescue teams evacuated the wounded.
Dozens of people were injured on Friday morning in a severe collision between a bus and a tractor on Highway 25, near the entrance to moshav Shibolim in the Negev. Emergency services reported that the bus driver, a man in his 50s, sustained critical multi-system injuries and was unconscious at the scene.
According to the Fire and Rescue Services, the bus was transporting a group of young women on a school trip. Firefighters from the Netivot station rushed to the site to rescue several passengers trapped inside the wreckage. MDA (Magen David Adom) dispatched an evacuation helicopter and large medical teams to coordinate treatment and transport.
Paramedics reported that three young women are in moderate condition, while 19 other passengers sustained minor injuries and were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. Four individuals were initially trapped inside the vehicles before rescue crews extricated them.
Following the crash, Highway 25 was closed to westbound traffic near the moshav entrance. Officers from the Southern District Police deployed to direct traffic around the site, while traffic investigators opened a formal inquiry into the circumstances of the collision.
