At least 45 killed after stampede at religious gathering in Israel; several Americans among the dead msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel has killed at least 45 people and injured about 150, medical officials said.
One of the country’s deadliest civilian disasters began when large numbers of people thronged a narrow tunnel-like passage during the event, according to witnesses and video footage.
People began falling on top of each other near the end of the walkway as they descended slippery metal stairs, witnesses said.
Avraham Leibe told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that a crush of people trying to descend the mountain caused “general bedlam” on a slippery metal slope followed by stairs. “Nobody managed to halt,” he said from a hospital bed. “I saw one after the other fall.”
Religious festival stampede in Israel kills 45, hurts dozens
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Ultra Orthodox Jews pray near the scene where fatalities were reported among the thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews during Lag BaOmer festival at Mt. Meron in northern Israel, Friday, April 30, 2021. A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed dozens of people and injured more than 100 others early Friday, medical officials said, in one of the country s deadliest civilian disasters. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
JERUSALEM – A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed at least 45 people and injured about 150 early Friday, medical officials said. It was one of the country’s deadliest civilian disasters.
USA TODAY
In what is one of the country s deadliest civilian disasters, about 100,000 people were crowded by Mount Meron early Friday for the celebration of Lag BaOmer, a holiday that, among other things, commemorates Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second century sage and mystic who is buried at the base of the mountain.
Zaka, one of the country s ambulance service, confirmed the death toll had risen to 45. Around 150 people were injured with six in critical condition, said Zaki Heller, a spokesman for the Magen David Adom rescue service.
Zaka spokesman Motti Bukchin said families were being notified and the bodies were being taken to a single location for identification. He said he expected the bodies to be buried before sundown of the Jewish Sabbath, when funerals do not take place. Bodies were later taken to Israel’s central forensic pathology institute.