TRAGEDY: Family of 8 perishes in fiery head-on wreck near Dead Sea

The car accident on Route 90 claimed the lives of six children and their parents, with three others injured.

By World Israel News Staff

Eight members of the Atar family of the Psagot community in Samaria died on Tuesday after the vehicle in which they were traveling burst into flames following a head-on collision.

The accident occurred on Israel’s Route 90, a winding, scenic highway that hugs the Dead Sea before stretching out toward the north.

While the names of the six children who perished have not been released, the parents were named as Yariv and Shoshi Atar.

The family’s minivan reportedly collided with an SUV, with the precise cause of the accident still unknown as of Tuesday evening. An initial report indicated that the Atar’s vehicle ignited following the collision, with no one surviving the blaze by the time firefighters could access the minivan’s passengers.

“When our medics and paramedics arrived, the [Atar’s] vehicle was burning, and it was impossible to rescue them,” MDA spokesperson Zaki Heller commented, reported the Times of Israel.

Magen David Adom medic Sara Israeli told Channel 10 news it was “impossible to comprehend [the] sights” she witnessed at the accident scene immediately after the incident.