Forty four people are confirmed dead, with dozens more injured, following an accident at religious festival Lag B’Omer.
Ten’s of thousands Orthadox Jews travelled to the bottom of Mount Meron. The all night festival continued last night, despite the Governments warnings about Covid 19. It is still unclear what caused the mass crush. Some reports state that a structure collapsed at the base of the mountain, whereas another says worshippers tripped at the base causing others to fall and the crush to begin. Investigations are still ongoing.
The festival sees women and men separate, with the crush happening in the male section.
Witnesses have detailed the panic felt when the crush began. The amount of attendees meant they felt they couldn’t move when people started to fall. Attendee Shlomo Katz explains many did not know what happened until they saw paramedics rushing by. Others witnesses describe the horror of watching CPR be administered to children.
An emergency worker explains seeing over 1,000 people try to go down a very narrow tunnel. It was too many people in a confined space, when a few fell over. Lazar Hymen, a volunteer rescue worker, explains that he had not seen anything like it since he entered the field of emergency medicine.
Ambulances continue to arrive at the scene, along with the army who continue to work the search and rescue mission for survivors. Dozens of bodies lay under silver foil, whilst helicopters continually fly the critically injured in and out of hospital. At last count 150 people have suffered injuries, of which 38 are in critical care.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Sunday as the official day of morning following “the worst civilian disaster in its history”.
What is Lag B’Omer festival ?
Thousands of Orthadox Jews travel to Meron each year, on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. A night of bonfires, prayers and dancing mark this religious occasion after the Second Centuary Sage declared he wanted his life celebrated rather than his death mourned.
The lighting of bonfires is symbolic of the day the Rashbi revealed the secrets of the Kabbalah. According to scripture, he extended the daylight until he had finished his teachings. It shows all light is subservient to spiritual light, and particularly the primeval light in the teachings of the Torah. The bonfire represents the revelation of powerful light.
The Times of Israel estimated over 100,000 attendees. Restrictions have lifted in the country but the Government still warned against attending to religious celebrations.
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