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At least 38 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the grave of a Jewish sage in northern Israel, according to rescue services and local media.
The Israeli army was assisting civilian rescue workers in the “mass casualty incident.” Videos of the Mount Meron scene showed that part of the stadium where the ultra-Orthodox faithful were celebrating the Lake B’omer festival had collapsed.
Separate reports said the crowd had caused a stampede, citing survivors. An Israeli ambulance services spokesman told Ynet News that most of the deaths were caused by heavy crowding.
“We thought maybe there was one [bomb] alert about a suspicious package. No one imagined this could happen here, ”a pilgrim told a local news channel.
Tens of thousands of devout Jews had gathered at the tomb of the sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai from the 2nd century for the Lag B’omer festival, which traditionally involves a night of prayer, dancing and bonfires.
Last year’s event was restricted due to Covid-19 restrictions. This year, as tens of thousands headed for the pilgrimage, authorities tried to limit the number of bonfires before warning that the coronavirus risk was rapidly becoming too much to control.
The ultra-Orthodox minority in Israel forms a crucial spine of the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Amir Ohana, public safety minister, visited the site before the accident, wishing the crowds a happy holiday and thanking the police for helping with the pilgrimage, the Associated Press reported. Netanyahu called the incident a “serious disaster.”
At least 100,000 people were expected at the site in the early evening, making it the largest public meeting in Israel since mass vaccination the campaign allowed the country to reopen. According to the media, police had already removed people from the scene before the accident.
About 5,000 police officers were deployed to enforce coronavirus restrictions at the mystic’s grave after health officials warned the event could be a coronavirus hazard.
In the afternoon, clashes erupted between police and ultra-Orthodox attendees as authorities tried to enforce a system of green passports for separate the vaccinated according to videos on social media, of the unvaccinated.
Helicopters evacuated the injured to local hospitals, where television news channels showed that tents were being set up to care for the injured.
Witnesses reported a large number of people in which attendees were suffocated.
A rescue worker told a local radio station that attempts to save the trampled crowd were hampered by debris and warned that more victims could be buried below.
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