[ad_1]
Around 15 people were killed in a crush at a religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, the top-rated Channel 12 TV news said, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “heavy disaster”.
Medics confirmed that dozens of people had been hurt at the Lag B’Omer event in northern Mount Meron, where tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews were gathered at the tomb of a 2nd-century sage for annual commemorations that include all-night prayer and dance.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said around 20 people had life-threatening injuries.
On Twitter, Netanyahu called it a “heavy disaster” and added: “We are all praying for the wellbeing of the casualties.”
The gathering had been held in defiance of health officials who had worries that crowding could pose a COVID-19 risk. Police said on Thursday that they had arrested two people for disrupting officers’ efforts to keep order at the site.
Read more:
Four arrested as Israeli police, ultra-Orthodox Jews clash over coronavirus rules
[ad_2]
Source link
