Dozens Have Been Killed At The Lag B’omer Religious Festival In Israel

 

 

 

At least 44 people are reported to have been killed in a crush at one of the crowded religious festivals in the northeast part of Israel.

The reports from the site also said that dozens were injured at the Lag B’omer festival that takes place annually at the foot of Mount Meron.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel has described it as a heavy disaster. He also said that he is praying for the casualties.

The festival was attended by tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews and it is one of the largest festivals in Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The successful vaccination program in the country has allowed it to lift many restrictions. But there were also warnings from the health officials about the risk of Covid-19.

According to early reports that came in suggested that a structure at the site has collapsed. But later on, the emergency officials have said that a crash had occurred at 1.00 local time which is 22.00 GMT on Thursday.

Police sources have said to the media outlets that it all started after some of the attendees slipped on the steps. This has caused dozens of more people to fall.

According to a witness, everything happened in a split second. People were trampling as they fell on each other. It was a very big disaster.

The videos that were posted online showed thousands of people who have been struggling to flee the chaos through a narrow passageway as the incident unfolded.

A pilgrim thought that it was a bomb alert as the loudhailer messages urged the crowds to disperse. The police then requested everyone to evacuate the site.

One of the pilgrims told that nobody imagined that this could happen here. He also told that rejoicing turned into mourning. The great light turned into deep darkness.

The scene was attended by dozens of ambulances and the bodies were laid out by the emergency services. The bodies were on the ground under foil covers. The injured were taken to the hospital by helicopters and according to the military, the rescue and search troops were also deployed.

According to officials, at least 103 people are injured that includes 38 people who are in critical condition at the site.

Magen David Adom (MDA) has said that the MDA has been fighting for the lives of dozens who have been wounded and they are not going to give up until everybody is evacuated.

Officials have said that, earlier in the day, they were not able to enforce the coronavirus restrictions at the site because of the huge crowds.

Police have reported that they have arrested two people for disrupting the efforts and keep the order before the crash.

The panic started immediately after the crash started to unfold. One of the attendees has told that it was so crowded that there was no place to move and everyone was running.