Fireman’s helmet-cam shows first moments after bus blast
GoPro footage captures Jerusalem first-responders fighting inferno that engulfed two buses, searching through wreckage for injured
Raoul Wootliff is a former Times of Israel political correspondent and Daily Briefing podcast producer.
New footage was released Tuesday showing the view of a firefighter who arrived at the scene shortly after an explosive device blew up on a Jerusalem bus, setting it and other vehicles ablaze and injuring 21.
The images were recorded on a GoPro camera on the helmet of Arik Abuloff, a fireman from the Jerusalem department of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service, who raced to the neighborhood of Talpiot in the immediate wake of the bombing.
The images show Abuloff running toward two buses engulfed in flames before him and a team of firefighters attempting to battle the inferno using water hoses.
Police and rescue officials confirmed 21 people were injured, two of them seriously, when a bomb aboard number 12 city bus exploded in the capital’s Talpiot neighborhood on Moshe Baram Street on Monday evening, setting the bus on fire. A nearby intercity bus and car were also burned in the blast.
After the flames have subsided, the footage shows Abuloff entering the burnt-out shell of the two buses in an apparent search for victims and clues for the cause of the explosions.
Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevy said Monday evening the blast was caused by an explosive device placed on the bus, putting an end to two hours of speculation over whether the blast was terror related or a technical malfunction.
One man wounded in the attack remained in life-threatening condition Tuesday, while 11 others were still hospitalized.
The man suffered severe burns and extensive injuries to the limbs, according to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he is being treated.
Police had yet to identify the man who was seriously injured in the blast and were investigating the possibility that he was the bomber, a spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson said, “All of the details and circumstances are still being checked and investigated.”
The terror attack broke weeks of relative calm in the city after a six-month wave of Palestinian terror and violence seemed to be subsiding, and marked a return to a type of violence not seen in Jerusalem for years.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
