Four killed in minibus crash near Modiin

Four men were killed and 9 people were injured when a minibus hired by the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority collided into a guardrail on Route 443 near Modiin in central Israel on Thursday, medics said.

The 10 wounded were lightly to moderately hurt, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.

Officials said the dead were all released prisoners, undergoing rehabilitation in a hostel in Jerusalem.

They were returning from an outing to the beach on Israel’s Independence Day.

According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle was on its way to Jerusalem when it swerved into the guardrail, struck it and careened into the air. The vehicle then flipped off the highway and rolled several times into the brush alongside the highway before landing back on its wheels several meters from the road. Part of the roof was crushed and at least two passengers were thrown from the vehicle as it spun.

Police said they had detained the driver for questioning.

There was no immediate information on what caused the minibus to careen off the road on an eastbound section of Route 443 near the Shilat Junction.

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A section of the highway, a key thoroughfare to Jerusalem, was closed to traffic in both directions due to the accident, with police directing drivers to alternate routes.