12:50PM EST: According to initial reports, at least 7 people – some of them Charedim – have R”L been killed, and more than a dozen injured after a train collided with a mini-bus.
The horrific crash occurred just a short while ago on Route 353 near Kibbutz Gat, when a train collided a minibus .
A massive response of rescue forces were scrambled to the scene of the wreckage, including Ichud Hatzolah, MDA, FD, and medics from the IDF.
Sources on the scene tell YWN that there are at least 15 people injured, some heavily entrapped inside the wreckage.
Numerous IDF Choppers were seen landing nearby to airlift the wounded to various trauma centers.
UPDATE 12:58PM EST: Highly credible sources tell YWN that 3 of the dead are children from a Chareidi family.
UPDATE 2:22PM EST: Among the dead was a family from Beitar. The father, mother, and three children have RL been killed.
UPDATE 4:30PM EST: The preliminary assessment indicated that the bus driver was driving too fast and he couldn’t stop the bus before plowing through the train barrier. The conductor of the train – Giora Weiss, tried stopping the train with the emergency brake, but with less than 1,000 feet to go, he was unable to stop it in time. Upon impact, the first car of the train flipped, and the mini bus was almost completely crushed.
Emergency medical forces transported the injured victims to the Barzali Hospital in Ashkelon, and the Sorka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. According to initial reports from Chadrei Chedarim, no passengers on the train were injured. However, Kikar Hashabat noted that there were some train riders with injuries. There were at least twenty injured, including bystanders. Among the niftar, was a father who was also a ZAKA volunteer.
Kikar Hashabat reports that the CEO of Rakevet Yisrael, Yitzchak Harel, said: “I’m amazed that these drivers cannot obey the law. I’m standing here, at the scene of the collision, and I’m utterly amazed”.
A firefighter who was at the scene minutes after the accident occurred said “From what I can understand, the minibus was hurtled 300 feet on impact and the train didn’t stop for 1,000 feet after hitting the bus.
UPDATE 8:34PM EST: Zaka spokesman Moti Bukjin said that the team that came to identify the bodies were horrified to discover that they knew the victims: Aryeh Bernstein, the head of the family, who died along with his wife, his pregnant daughter and her husband, and his three other children, was himself a Zaka volunteer, and a member of United Hatzalah.
UPDATE 8:40PM EST: The Levayos for all 7 members of the Bernstein & Gutstein will be at Karlin Stolin on Rechov Avi Noam Yelllin in Yersushalayim on Friday morning at 10:30AM.
YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos.
(Feivel Katz / Yehuda Drudgestein / LipaS / YWN Israel Desk)
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14 Responses
VERRRRY SAD–
However, there is NO need to point out that they are chariedi.. you can point out that they are jewish if you wish…. however – EVERY jewish life is identical….
May there be no more “Tzaros”
Ditto RamatShilo! I am chareidi and I find it unnecessary to add such a comment, particularly in view of this incredibly tragic circumstance. It only adds to the divisiveness of klal Yisroel.
Right on RamatShilo and jcohen.
To put things in perspective, one would never see headlines in Arutz7 that say “7 Killed in Crash, Religious Zionists among the dead.”
While we all relate to our own communities the best and we obviously place many of our efforts at being in involved with our ‘extended family’ it is utterly tasteless to point out that charedim are among the casualties. Such statements only increase the amount of tension within klal yisroel and leads to more sinas chinam.
May Hashem grant nechama to all those affected.
Ditto. #1 and #2. Just tell us where they’re from and you can show pictures. It’d be one thing if they were killed because they were Chareidim or something, but in this story it’s totally irrelevant.
HORRIBLE TRAGEDY!!! MAY ALL THE FAMILIES HAVE MUCH NECHAMA AND NO MORE TZAAR. MAY ALL THE CHOLIM HAVE A SPEEDY REFUAH SHELAMA!
Very tragic, sad, and unfortunate story. However, I agree with the previous four posters that the numerous references to Chareidim is completely inappropriate. Unfortunately there were other Jews who were injured and killed in the crash as well, are they not important because they aren’t Chareidim? A Jew is a Jew, whether they are Chareidi or not. We are in between Tisha B’av and Yom Kippur. Sinas Chinum and a lack of Jewish unity destroyed the second Bais HaMikdash. It’s definitely not going to help build the third!
When YeshivaWorld posts “further details as they become available,” they need to edit the article to reflect the tragic loss of Jewish life.
This is terrible tragedy and of course they are all Yidden and it makes no difference that some were Charedi or not. But this is YESHIVA world and Yeshiva world is a site for the CHAREDI public, so just like a pakistani news bulletin will mention that there were pakistanis caught up in a tragedy and a chinese bulletin will mention the chinese, so too YESHIVA world will make particular mention of the charedi involvement, this is absolutely fine and totally normal. It is not causing rifts amongst us Chas V’sholom and is not belittling other Yidden.
Please be mispalel for Dovid Tzvi ben Bassheva- another person that was in the minibus.
What a tragedy!! The family lives on Rechov Metzrich in Beitar, Givah B. The name of the family is Berenstein. They were going to Komimius for Shabbos with the family. The couple was travelling with a daughter, son in law, 2 year old grandchild and 2 other children. They were all R”L killed. There is one remaining 16 year old son in the family who did not join the family on the trip.
Baruch Dayan Haemes
Reports are that the driver of the minibus (who survived) was an Arab. The minibus stopped on the tracks. Let’s see if this was ‘an accident’. Still a horrendous tragedy.
I know the family well
#10 the driver is jewish and lives in Beiter
#9 it was amistake in the news, the one remaining us the son un law “Dovid Tzvi ben Bassheva”
To Torah4Me #7, but we are NOT Pakistani or Chinese. I’ll paraphrase a Ba’al Shem Tov I heard from my Rebbe,
Halivai I could love the biggest tzaddik as much as Hashem loves the ‘worst’ Yid and also, if you claim to love Hashem you must love ALL his children.
maybe if in the course of the article it was mentioned that a chareidi family was R’L niftar it woudn’t sound as bad. however, ‘According to initial reports, at least 7 people – some of them Charedim ‘ gives off bad vibes. may the zchus of ahavas yisrael protect us from such tzaros in the future.
I’m appalled at what this Ben Eisav, Yitzchack Haral said. Is this the way you speak at a tragic accident?! His Yichus should be checked.
Besides, I heard that not only is there no gate at that crossing, but the signal is also easy to miss.