2 killed, 3 injured in collision on southern highway

A man and a woman in their thirties were killed Thursday in a head-on collision on Route 40 in the south of the country.

Another man and woman, also in their thirties, were seriously injured and flown by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

A third person was moderately injured and taken by ambulance to Yoseftal Medical Center in the southern port city of Eilat.

Large numbers of emergency crews including ambulances and a fire truck rushed to the site of the collision, where both cars caught fire.

The two fatalities were trapped in one of the burning vehicles and were found to be dead when emergency services finally pulled them from the car.

כביש מספר 40 חסום לתנועה בקטע שבין צומת קטורה לקיבוץ נאות סמדר, בשני הכיוונים, בגלל תאונת דרכים.
אל תתקרבו לאזור.
צילום: דנה רן@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/Ak7tX90Fyv

— בני כבודי (@benikvodi) December 19, 2019

The cause of the collision was not immediately clear.

Route 40 was closed in both directions between Shizafon Junction and Ketura Junction. Police asked drivers to find alternative routes.

The deaths brought to 332 the number of fatalities in traffic accidents so far in 2019. Last year 316 people were killed on the roads.