BREAKING NEWS

Victim of bus crash in South named as 18-year-old Ron Eliyahu Oved

The incident happened happened near Shomria, a kibbutz in the Negev.

By ILANIT CHERNICK, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

APRIL 12, 2019 10:54

One teenager has died after a bus crashed into a tent filled with teenagers taking part in a pre-army exercise on Thursday, the IDF announced on Friday.

Eighteen-year-old Ron Eliyahu Oved from Palmachim was named on Friday as the victim in the incident.

Five more teenagers were wounded in the incident in southern Israel.

"Yesterday, a candidate for security service was killed as a result of a civilian bus hitting a group of security service candidates undergoing screening tests for a combat unit near an IDF base in the south of the country," the IDF said Friday morning. "The IDF takes part in the condolences of the family and continues to accompany them and the families of the wounded."

His funeral will take place on Friday, at 12:30 p.m. in the Palmachim cemetery.

The Military Police and the Israel Police opened a joint investigation into the circumstances of the incident.

The incident happened happened near Shomria, a kibbutz in the Negev. Some of those injured were trapped under the bus.

According to Magen David Adom, the five others were moderately-to-seriously wounded. They were all evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

Two of the injured were moderately wounded sustaining injuries to the abdomen and limbs. They were evacuated in a MDA helicopter. Three others sustained light injuries to their limbs and were evacuated in MDA ambulances.

MDA paramedic Jonathan Popkin, who was on the scene, said that when they arrived "we saw a bus and several young men lying nearby, one of them was unconscious and suffered multi-system damage."

"Another five were fully conscious and suffered injuries to their limbs, stomach and head. They said they had been hit by a bus that rolled down on its side," Popkin explained. "We administered first-aid medical treatment at the site. Two were airlifted to Soroka Hospital and the rest were evacuated in our ambulances."

Police have since arrested the driver of the bus, which was believed to be almost empty.