JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A bus carrying dozens of Israeli tourists flipped over in South Korea Thursday, killing at least one passenger and injuring many of those on board.
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According to the Foreign Ministry, a bus with 33 Israelis on board was involved in a traffic accident in the Chungcheong district in South Korea. Local officials reported that an Israeli woman was killed, and 31 other tourists were injured, two of them very seriously, five in serious condition and the rest with light injuries.
The accident occurred as the bus was traveling up a winding road. An official stated that the driver was unable to shift gears in while the bus was traveling uphill, causing the bus to veer backwards down the hill and flip over. The driver blamed a mechanical failure for the accident. South Korean police are currently investigating the accident.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen spoke with Israel’s ambassador to South Korea, Akiva Tor. He instructed him to help the Israeli citizens who were injured in the accident and their families until their return to Israel. Tor, together with the Israeli consul in Korea Hanan Saroya visited the Israeli victims in the hospitals to which they have been transferred in the last few hours.
In a video message from one of the hospitals, Tor said the wounded are “receiving excellent care” from local medical professionals, and that the embassy and the Foreign Ministry are “working to bring everyone back to Israel in full health as soon as possible.”
The PassportCard insurance company sent a rescue mission to the scene and is attempting to organize a plane to fly some of the injured to Israel.