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Israeli rescue forces and police at the scene after a mass fatality scene during the celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Lag Baomer on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel on April 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)
Police on Monday detained for questioning two engineers who were involved in approving arrangements at a religious festival last month where 45 people were crushed to death in an overcrowded walkway.
Investigators from the Lahav 433 national crime unit brought in the safety engineer and the safety adviser who signed off on the Lag B’Omer festival at Mount Meron.
It marked the first formal questioning or gathering of testimony by police as they probe the disaster that happened 11 days ago.
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Northern District Commander Shimon Lavi (R) and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai (R) at Mount Meron ahead of the tragedy, April 29, 2021 (Israel Police)
Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai has asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit for either a state commission of inquiry into the Mount Meron disaster or some other form of official investigation of the incident last week, during which dozens of people were crushed to death, the Kan public broadcaster reported Wednesday.
There have been increasing demands for a state investigation of the tragedy during Lag B’Omer celebrations last week, in which 45 people including numerous children and teenagers were killed and over 150 were injured.
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Security officials and rescuers at the scene of a fatal crush during Lag B Omer celebrations at Mt. Meron in northern Israel, Friday, April 30, 2021. (AP Photo)
A police assessment ahead of this year’s Lag B’Omer festivities on Mount Meron warned of the dangers of overcrowding at access points as well as the possibility of structures collapsing, and specifically cited dangers surrounding the exit route where 45 people lost their lives in a crush overnight Thursday-Friday, a TV report said.
Channel 13 reported that the document warned of overcrowding in the Toldot Aharon compound, the scene of the crush, and urged that the exit route be expanded.
Meron: un document de police demandait l élargissement de la rampe de sortie timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Mourners carry the body of Shraga Gestetner, a Canadian singer who died during Lag BaOmer celebrations at Mt. Meron in northern Israel, at his funeral in Jerusalem on Friday, April 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Ultra-Orthodox men carry the bodies of Moshe Englander, 14, and his brother, Yehoshua, 9, who died during Lag B Omer celebrations at Mt. Meron in northern Israel, in Jerusalem on Friday, April 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In a sign of mourning for one who lost a relative, a man cuts the shirt of a child whose father died in Meron tragedy, April 30, 2021 (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Hundreds attend the Jerusalem funeral of David Krauss in Jerusalem, one of the victims of the Meron tragedy, April 30, 2021 (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)