Israeli students still stranded in Turkey after 12 hours as rescue plane also found to be unsafe

A group of  Israeli 12th graders stranded at an airport in Turkey are still there 12 hours later, after a plane sent to rescue them was also found to have technical issues, the the Education Ministry says.

The plane carrying 12th-grade students from five schools to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing in Turkey, due to engine issues.

According to reports, the students were taken to a secure area in the airport in Antalya as they await a replacement aircraft.

But the replacement plane was also found to be unsafe and now a third plane will be sent in the coming hours, the ministry says.

The students are on an organized trip to visit concentration camps and learn about the Holocaust. The Poland trips are seen as a learning experience about the Holocaust, the subsequent necessity of the Jewish state, and the values of volunteerism and social cohesion.