At least 26 people were killed and dozens of others seriously injured when a bus overturned Tuesday near the popular Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat. (Ruhama Biton/Associated Press)

A bus carrying Russian tour guides scouting out a location near Israel's southern tip crashed through a roadside barrier on Monday and plummeted into a steep ravine, killing at least 26 people, rescue and hospital officials said.

The Associated Press quoted the driver of another tour bus on the winding Ovda-Eilat road as saying the vehicle crashed through the guard rail while speeding by his bus in a no-passing zone.

But in an interview later in the day with Israel's Channel 2, the driver denied he was speeding and said he lost control of the vehicle when an object fell on his while it was overtaking the other bus.

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said the accident was the result of "road rage" between the two bus drivers, who argued over who would be the first to pass through a security checkpoint and continued their feud with attempts to pass each other.

Israeli TV showed debris and luggage strewn along the slope near the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, with rescue workers and soldiers teeming around a row of body bags at the bottom of the ravine.

Israel's rescue service said 24 people were declared dead at the scene, and Eilat's hospital said two more died later of injuries. Hospital officials said most of the surviving passengers were injured, while several more people were in critical condition.

About 60 passengers on the bus were from Russia and had just arrived in the city, officials said.

"Dozens of wounded and dead were strewn along the slope. Most of them were thrown from the bus as it rolled," said Gabi Baribo, a medic at the scene.

The CBC's Peter Armstrong said the accident happened on a "notoriously dangerous highway" covered in signs warning drivers to be cautious.

About 40 ambulances and six air force helicopters were dispatched to quickly remove the wounded from the site.

Irina Tyurina, a spokeswoman for the Russian Union of Tour Operators, told the Russian station Vesti-TV that the passengers were representatives from five Russian tour agencies on a professional scouting trip to Israel.

With files from the Associated Press