Fri 30 April 2021:
Dozens of people have died as a result of a stampede during the mass celebration the Lag B’Omer holiday at Mount Meron in northern Israel, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday, citing the Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom.
More than 100 people were injured, dozens critically, in a stampede at a Jewish religious gathering in northern Israel attended by tens of thousands of people, Israel’s main rescue service said early Friday.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered at the foot of Mount Meron to celebrate Lag BaOmer, a Jewish holiday honouring Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic who is buried there.
🔴 #BREAKING Israel: At least 28 people were crushed to death and more than 50 people hurt, including many in critical condition at a mass stampede during Lag B’Omer celebrations in Mount Meron. The PM Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “a terrible disaster.” pic.twitter.com/oPiQK3XOwo
— Adrián Sánchez Berger (@sanchezberger) April 30, 2021
The tomb is considered to be one of the holiest sites in the Jewish world and it is an annual pilgrimage site.
Bodies lay on stretchers in a corridor, covered in foil blankets.
On Twitter, Netanyahu called it a “heavy disaster” and added: “We are all praying for the wellbeing of the casualties.”
It was the first huge religious gathering of its kind to be held legally since Israel lifted nearly all restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Israeli media reported that up to 38 people were killed, but the rescue service did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation. The Ynet news website was among those reporting the figure. It published a photo appearing to show several bodies.
The incident happened late at night and there were conflicting reports on whether a grandstand did fall.
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
