25 Injured in Drone Crash

Twenty-five people, including 13 children, required treatment for smoke inhalation after a Heron 1 drone belonging to Israel Aerospace Industries crashed into a house in the village of Zalafa, in the Wadi Ara area, The Times of Israel reported Tuesday.

The unmanned craft was an experimental vehicle, IAA announced Tuesday afternoon. The announcement followed reports that a plane or other air vehicle had crashed in the area of Wadi Ara.

Rescue services streamed to the site to discover that the vehicle was a small drone that had crashed and exploded. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

The house was demolished in the accident, and the owner, Wessam Jabarin, called it a “disaster” from which his wife and children barely escaped.

“My wife and four children were on the bottom floor and the plane hit the top floor. Thank G-d the kids are okay, but my wife felt sick and is in hospital,” Jabarin told reporters.

“No one has talked to us,” Jabarin said. “Everything I have is gone.”

A spokesman for the company said the vehicle was in the midst of a test flight when it crashed.

Officials have launched an investigation into the incident.