Bus, truck collision kills at least 6 in Ramallah
By Kevin Flower, CNN
February 16, 2012 -- Updated 1121 GMT (1921 HKT)
Rescue workers and security personnel gather at the site of a crash between a truck and a school bus outside Ramallah.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- About 35 children were in the bus, witness says
- Palestinian medical sources say five of those killed are students
(CNN) -- A bus carrying school children burst into flames after a collision with a truck outside the Palestinian city of Ramallah on Thursday, killing at least six people, authorities said.
Dozens more were injured and are undergoing treatment at Israeli and Palestinian hospitals.
Palestinian medical sources said five of those killed were students traveling with their teacher.
The school bus collided with a truck near a circle that acts as an interchange for traffic between Jerusalem and the West Bank, witnesses said.
Tayser Odeh was commuting when he saw the truck in front of him lose control and start swerving.
Cars coming from the other direction, including the bus, moved to the edge of the road to avoid the truck, he said.
It did not get to the side of the road quickly enough before the truck hit the fuel tank of the bus, sparking a fire that eventually engulfed the entire vehicle.
About 35 children were in the bus, Odeh said, adding that motorists tried to remove as many children as possible, but were not able to save them all.
"This is the most terrible thing I have ever witnessed in my life," he said.
The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared a three-day period of mourning following the accident.
Israeli and Palestinian authorities are conducting a joint investigation into the circumstances of the accident, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
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