15 Palestinians, Jordanians die in Jordan bus crash
By JPOST.COM STAFF
03/16/2013 13:42
At least 42 pilgrims returning from Mecca injured after bus turns over, Jordanian news agency reports.
![Bus crash [file].](../HttpHandlers/ShowImage.ashx?ID=166106 "Bus crash [file].")
Bus crash [file]. Photo: Mandy Hechtman
Fifteen Palestinians and Jordanians were killed and 42 others were injured on
Saturday when their bus flipped over on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea road,
25 kilometers southwest of Amman, the Jordanian news agency Petra
reported.
Five of the injured were in critical condition, and 25 of the
injured were evacuated to Amman hospitals, according to Palestinian news agency
Ma’an.
The bus, which was carrying Palestinians and Jordanians on their
way back from a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, turned over after colliding
with a van and a car, not far from the Allenby Bridge crossing. The bus driver
was killed.
Six of the dead were from Jenin, while the rest were
Jordanian citizens, Army Radio reported.
“We are working on arrangements
to bring the bodies to Jenin,” the governor of Jenin, Talal Dweikat, told
Ma’an.
Israel offered its assistance to Jordan: Magen David Adom offered
to help with medical care for the Palestinians who were injured, while
Transportation Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israel Airports Authority to
help the families of the crash victims cross the border into Jordan, by
extending the opening hours for the Allenby Bridge.