Many of the victims were prison guards travelling on a bus which was caught in the inferno in the Carmel Mountains near the northern city of Haifa.

Thousands of people, some of them prison inmates, have been evacuated from the area.

Scores more have been injured, the ambulance service said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has visited the affected area, said it was an "unprecedented disaster".

The fire in the northern Carmel region broke out about midday (1000 GMT), and hundreds of firefighters were battling the flames on the ground and from the air amid heavy winds.

Emergency crews from across the country tried to reach the scene, weaving through heavy rush-hour traffic as night fell.

Some 12,000 people have been evacuated from the area.

Israeli media said it was the biggest forest fire in the country's history, with 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares) of land destroyed by Thursday evening.

Israel is currently suffering a period of drought with no significant rain since the spring.