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One Killed, 35 Wounded in Crash of Egyptian Bus Bound for Israel

July 25, 1989
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An Egyptian tourist bus on its way from Cairo to Jerusalem overturned Sunday, killing one woman and injuring 35 other passengers.

Passengers said the bus was traveling at a high speed near Ismailia on the Suez Canal, when the driver lost control and the vehicle flipped over three times.

The bus was operated by the Egyptian tourist corporation, in conjunction with a parallel service by Israel’s Egged bus cooperative.

Most of those on board were tourists from the Netherlands returning to Israel after a visit to Egypt. There were six Israelis on board, and the woman who was killed was a Dutch citizen living in Israel.

The injured passengers were taken to Israeli hospitals Monday.

Initially after the accident occurred, the passengers were taken to an Egyptian hospital in Ismailia, where they described the medical treatment as “very rudimentary.”

Despite their injuries, they chose to return immediately to Israel. But when their bus neared the Rafah border checkpoint, they were told that the border post was closed for the night.

Consequently, they were forced to spend Sunday night in a hotel in the town of El-Arish.

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