Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the collapse of the stands and the crush at the Lag BaOmer religious holiday in Israel “a grave disaster”, as a result of which, according to the latest data, 44 people were killed and 103 more injured.
“A grave disaster on Mount Meron. We all pray for the healing of the wounded. I strive to increase the rescue forces operating in the area, ”the Srugim edition quotes him on April 30.
Israeli law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the incident.
Eli Pollack, the head of the United Hatzalah volunteer medical organization, said the tragedy happened when large crowds of people poured into the closed complex, resulting in a crush and dozens of people were pushed against the fences.
This holiday was the first mass event in Israel after the restrictions were lifted due to the pandemic. It was attended by up to 100 thousand people.
Lag ba-Omer is celebrated on the 18th of the month of Iyar according to the Jewish 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.