Last update - 00:00 30/09/2007
Four people killed and three injured in Arava road accident
By Haaretz Service
Four people were killed and three were injured on Sunday in a car accident in the Arava desert, some 45 kilometers north of Eilat, near Kibbutz Ketura.
Among the dead were three members of the same family - a man and a woman in their 40s, and a young woman. All three were riding in the same vehicle. The fourth fatality was a woman riding in the second car who was critically injured and died later from her wounds.
A man, 45, was lightly hurt in the accident, and Magen David Adom rescue teams said that two children, aged 11 and 12, were also among the injured.
The accident occurred at roughly 9 A.M. The accident occured when a car heading northward strayed from its lane while driving around a curve in the road, and hit an oncoming vehicle. The impact of the crash caused both cars to spin out of control. One of the cars hit a road sign and flipped over onto its side.
The casualties were evacuated to Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat and, via helicopter, to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.
A portion of the Arava Road closed to traffic following the accident was reopened at at around 11 A.M.
The chief of Eilat's traffic police told Army Radio that the police have been working to prevent serious accidents like these.
"The vehicle traveling southbound passed two of our patrol cars on the way, and the vehicle heading northbound passed another of our patrol cars. We are working at our fullest capacity," said Police Superintendent Ami Ushpitz.