"Israel hit by its worst ever environmental crisis as millions of litres of crude oil spill from pipeline in the desert", 04 Dec 2014

Israel has been hit by its worst ever environmental crisis as millions of litres of crude oil gushed out of a pipeline to flood 200 acres of a desert nature reserve, officials said.

More than 80 people have been taken to hospital with breathing difficulties after the oil spill which happened during maintenance work on the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, on Wednesday night.

Officials say rehabilitation of the area could take months, even years, as the spill stretched to 'a couple of kilometers long' and reached the Evrona nature reserve, close to the Jordan border. 

A preliminary investigation indicated that the pipeline burst after a new section was struck accidentally during maintenance work, according to The Times of Israel...