Dozens Killed in Israel Pilgrimage Stampede

World

April 30th, 4:40am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Israeli security officials and rescuers carry a body of a victim who died during a Lag B'Omer celebrations at Mount Meron in northern Israel, April 30, 2021. AP

Dozens of people were killed in a massive stampede at a Jewish religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, medics said, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "heavy disaster." Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had thronged to the Galilee tomb of 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for annual Lag B'Omer commemorations that include all-night prayer, mystical songs and dance. The ecstatic crowds packed the Mount Meron slope in defiance of COVID-19 warnings by health officials. Witnesses said people were asphyxiated or trampled in a passageway, some going unnoticed until the PA system sounded an appeal to disperse. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said 103 people had been injured, including dozens fatally. Channel 12 put the number of dead at 40. These included children, witnesses said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "heavy disaster", adding on Twitter: "We are all praying for the wellbeing of the casualties." Private bonfires at Mount Meron were banned last year due to coronavirus restrictions, but lockdown measures were eased this year amid Israel's rapid COVID-19 vaccination program that has seen more than 50% of the population fully vaccinated. Authorities had authorized 10,000 people to gather at the site of the tomb but organisers said more than 650 buses had been chartered from across the country, bringing 30,000 pilgrims to Meron. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have throughout the pandemic shown resistance towards health and safety measures mandated by the government.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2947286/dozens-killed-israel-pilgrimage-stampede