Grote bosbrand bij Haifa leidt tot minstens 40 doden

 

Het is je met de winterse kou hier moeilijk voor te stellen, maar bij Haifa woedt een hevige bosbrand waarbij al 40 mensen zijn omgekomen. Laten we hopen dat er over deze ramp niet weer allerlei indianenverhalen de ronde gaan doen in de blogosfeer en laten we hopen dat er snel regen zal vallen in het kurkdroge Israel.

 

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40 dead as huge brushfire rages through Carmel Mountains
Netanyahu sends IDF forces to the scene as thousands of dunams in northern Israel burn down; bus evacuating some 50 prison guards flips over, gets caught in the flames.

 

By Fadi Eyadat
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/40-dead-as-huge-brushfire-rages-through-carmel-mountains-1.328409

A huge brushfire was raging across the Carmel Mountains near Haifa on Thursday afternoon, resulting in the death of some 40 people and hurting dozens of others, among them prison guards and firemen.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday instructed Defense Minister Ehud Barak to send IDF forces to the Carmel region to aid in putting out the huge brushfire.

Netanyahu also instructed Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to send any available fire truck in Israel to the scene.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from areas around the Carmel Forest with the help of a large force of rescue workers who were called to the scene to evacuate dozens of homes and close off traffic on neighboring roads.

Thousands of dunams of natural forest were burned down and the power supply was cut off in the areas of Isfiyeh and Daliyat al-Karmel.

Prisons Service was also forced to evacuate some 500 security inmates from the Damon Prison and house them temporarily in nearby jails.

While trying to evacuate individuals from the Damon Prison, a bus with some 50 prison guards flipped over and got caught in the flames.

The villages of Isfiyeh and Beit Oron were evacuated in the early afternoon, as was the neighboring Carmel Forest Hotel and Carmel Farm, as easterly wind blew the flames across the mountain rage.

"This large fire has spread due to strong winds," Haifa District Police Deputy Superintendent Ahuva Mishne told Israel Radio. "The winds are blowing in the direction of the sea, so there is no real concern for the [nearby] villages."