JERUSALEM, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Fire surrounded Haifa, Israel, as night fell Friday over the Carmel Forest where the fire has killed dozens of people, fire officials said.
Firefighting aircraft sent to douse the flames halted operations at nightfall as ground crews battled the massive blaze that erupted Thursday. The death toll rose to 42 Friday, Haaretz reported.
Most of the victims were corrections cadets being brought in to help evacuate a prison in the fire area Thursday. Their bus was overwhelmed by a quick-moving wall of fire.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked for more international assistance Friday. Israel has gotten help from many countries in the region and from distant ones including Norway, Russia and the United States.
Israel's Air Force was examining an option that will allow Hercules transport planes to fly at night and carry large amounts of water to pour over the areas engulfed by flames, Channel 10 said.
Police sealed off a number of roads in northern Israel and said brushfires that broke out around Haifa and Nazareth appeared to be the work of arsonists, Channel One reported.
At a press conference Friday evening, Police Inspector General David Cohen said investigators have determined the Carmel fire spread from a single ignition point but the cause remains unclear, Channel 10 reported.
At Friday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu thanked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his country's assistance. He met with Turkish crew members Friday when they landed at the Ramat David Air Force base. During the day while touring the area, Netanyahu said he was deeply touched by the response from the international community and the aid sent to Israel.
Early Friday, firefighting aircraft from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Britain joined the effort. Other countries including France, which sent a planeload of fire retardant, Romania, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and the United States pledged to send aircraft, firefighting teams and equipment to help extinguish the blaze.
Palestinian security official Ahmed Rizek Abu Rabia said a number of Palestinian fire trucks were dispatched to Taibe and Barta'a, two Arab villages in the Galilee, the Ma'an news agency said.
By Friday afternoon about 20,000 people had been evacuated but police warned the number could rise if winds continue to fan the flames.
Netanyahu said he intended to announce a day of mourning, but the first priority was to save lives and quell the flames that have already engulfed thousands of acres of dense forest and damaged property on kibbutzim and in towns. UPI
