Soldiers Rescue Passengers from Exploding Car

Alert Border Guardsmen noticed a car burning as it traveled, pursued it and rescued its passengers - and it blew up two minutes later.

The alertness of a Border Guard unit on its way to a mission in the Negev saved six people, including four little girls, who were returning from a family vacation in Eilat.

The incident occurred Monday afternoon at an intersection near Be'er Sheva. The Border Guardsmen noticed a car driving by with its back wheels on fire, though its passengers - two males in front, the four girls in back - appeared not to notice anything amiss. The policemen quickly jumped out of their jeep, took off after the car and signaled it to stop. The driver, realizing only that four policemen were chasing after him, stopped by the side of the road in alarm. The policemen then scooped out the four girls from the back seat, while yelling for the adults to get out quickly.

Two and a half minutes later, according to the account Border Guard Sgt. Mickey Sela gave Ynet, "and after we called the fire department, blocked the intersection so that no one would pass, and made sure to keep everyone away - the car exploded, just as we had feared."

One suitcase with girls' clothing in it was salvaged from the burnt, rented car. The six shocked but safe Kiryat Gat residents were provided with a replacement car for the rest of their return trip home.