Tweet
2 December 2010
Last updated at 11:56 ET
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Police say the fire is raging out of control
About 40 prison guards have died after being trapped in a forest fire that is raging out of control in northern Israel, police say.
All the dead were on a bus which overturned in the inferno, in the Carmel Mountains near the city of Haifa, they said.
Hundreds of people, many of them prison inmates, have been evacuated from the area.
Scores more have been injured, the ambulance service said.
The Israeli prison service said the bus was carrying guards "on their way to help in the rescue activities" at nearby Damon Prison.
"This is a disaster of unprecedented proportions," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
He added that the government was using all means at its disposal to contain the blaze, which remained out of control at nightfall.
The fire in the northern Carmel region broke out about midday, and hundreds of firefighters were battling the flames on the ground and from the air amid heavy winds.
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
Israel is currently suffering a period of drought with no significant rain since the spring.
Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the forest fire? Send us your eyewitness accounts using the form below
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered by WizardRSS | Best Membership Site Software
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Police say the fire is raging out of control
About 40 prison guards have died after being trapped in a forest fire that is raging out of control in northern Israel, police say.
All the dead were on a bus which overturned in the inferno, in the Carmel Mountains near the city of Haifa, they said.
Hundreds of people, many of them prison inmates, have been evacuated from the area.
Scores more have been injured, the ambulance service said.
The Israeli prison service said the bus was carrying guards "on their way to help in the rescue activities" at nearby Damon Prison.
"This is a disaster of unprecedented proportions," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
He added that the government was using all means at its disposal to contain the blaze, which remained out of control at nightfall.
The fire in the northern Carmel region broke out about midday, and hundreds of firefighters were battling the flames on the ground and from the air amid heavy winds.
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
Israel is currently suffering a period of drought with no significant rain since the spring.
Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the forest fire? Send us your eyewitness accounts using the form below
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered by WizardRSS | Best Membership Site Software