The Israeli police did not immediately react to the crush that began due to the collapse of the tribune during the Lag B’Omer holiday. Eyewitnesses told about this on Friday, April 30, to the newspaper “Haaretz”.
“There was complete chaos. I was there the moment it happened, and at first I thought it was nothing. But then the stretcher went after the stretcher – endlessly, ”said an eyewitness named Shahar.
Another participant in the event said that everything happened instantly, people fell and crushed each other. It was a disaster, he said.
“For some reason, the police did not let us out, they pushed everyone, and people were simply trampled to death. I did not understand what was happening and lost consciousness, ”said one of the victims.
On the contrary, another pilgrim stated that people tried to help emergency workers.
“I was just sitting down to eat and heard screams. We rushed to the rescue, there were stretchers with bodies, and people tried to reanimate them on the move, ”the man said.
Earlier that day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday, May 2, a national day of mourning for the tragedy on Meron, which left 150 people injured and at least 44 dead. According to him, what happened is one of the most serious disasters that befell the state.
On April 30, it became known that the death toll as a result of the collapse of the rostrum and the stampede at a religious holiday in Israel increased to at least 44 people. The Daily Mail Online noted that another 150 participants in the event were injured, six of them were in critical condition, while 18 were seriously injured, eight were of moderate severity. Israeli law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the incident.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed condolences to the government and people of Israel in connection with the tragedy. Russian leader Vladimir Putin also expressed support. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Sunday, May 2, a national day of mourning for the tragedy on Meron.
Lag ba Omer is celebrated on the 18th of the month of Iyar according to the Hebrew lunar calendar, which in 2021 fell on the period from sunset on April 29 to late April 30 in the evening. The holiday is established in memory of the end of the epidemic, from which several thousand students of the Jewish theologian Akiva, who lived at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, died. e. During this celebration, bonfires are traditionally burned.