It's recently reported that 10 people have been killed by a deadly forest fire that is raging out of control near the Israeli city of Haifa.
It was reported by an Israeli radio that a bus with more than 50 people inside was trapped in the inferno after overturning.
Police said they were evacuating a prison, a kibbutz and a hotel, the AFP news agency reports. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has visited the affected area, said it was an "unprecedented disaster".
Israel's emergency services have not had to handle an operation on sunch a scale since the war in Lebanon in 2006.
The men had been raced to the area from central Israel to assist in the rescue, prison service spokesman Yaron Zamir said.
A fire brigade spokesman told the Jerusalem Post that the flames had travelled 1,500 meters in less than three minutes.
"The bus had no chance. They tried to escape but were burned alive. It was a horrific scene," the spokesman told the newspaper.
Major roads in the area have been closed and parts of Haifa, Israel's third largest city, have been evacuated. Israel is currently suffering a period of drought with no significant rain since the spring.
At a ceremony marking the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, Israeli President Shimon Peres praised the firefighters tackling the flames, saying they exemplified "personal and superior bravery"
About 13,000 people have been evacuated from the area. Israeli media said it was the biggest forest fire in the country's history, with 7,000 acres of land destroyed by Thursday evening.
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