Dozens of people were killed in a swarm at a religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, medics said in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “major disaster”.
Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had gathered at the tomb of Mount Meron of the wise 2nd-century rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai to hold annual Lag B’Omer commemorations, which included nightly prayer and dance.
The ecstatic crowd gathered despite warnings from health officials to avoid the risks of Covid-19. Witnesses said they discovered people had been suffocated or trampled when an organizer called over a loudspeaker to disperse the crowd.
“Joy became sadness”
“We thought maybe there was a (bomb) alarm about a suspicious package. Nobody suspected that this could happen here. Joy turned into sorrow, a great light turned into a deep darkness,” said one pilgrim who gave his name as Yitzhak told Channel 12 TV.
“Rabbi Shimon used to say that he could set the world free … If he hadn’t been able to lift this edict on the day of his exaltation, then we really have to search for souls.”
The Lag B’Omer event on Mount Meron has been considered one of the largest gatherings of people since the coronavirus pandemic broke out more than a year ago – certainly in Israel and perhaps in the distance.
More than 100 injured
Magen David Adom’s ambulance service said 103 people were injured, dozens of them fatally. Canal 12 put the number of deaths at 38. The police closed the construction site and ordered the night owls to evict them. Military helicopters brought victims to hospitals.
The tomb is considered one of the holiest sites in the Jewish world and is an annual pilgrimage site.
Videos posted on social media showed chaotic scenes as ultra-Orthodox men climbed through gaps in torn corrugated iron sheets to escape the crush while police and paramedics tried to reach the wounded.
Bodies lay on stretchers in a corridor, covered with foil blankets.
“Serious Disaster”
On Twitter, Netanyahu called it a “major disaster” and added: “We all pray for the welfare of the victims.”
Private bonfires on Mount Meron were banned last year due to coronavirus restrictions, but lockdown measures have been eased this year due to restrictions Israel’s Rapid COVID-19 Immunization Program This has resulted in more than 50% of the population being fully vaccinated.
Police said Thursday they had arrested two people for disrupting officers’ efforts to maintain order at the construction site.
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