At least 44 dead after avalanche at Jewish Lag Ba’omer festival in Northern Israel

A stampede during a Hasidic Jewish event in Northern Israel has killed at least 44 people, national media have reported.  

According to police sources quoted by newspaper Haaretz, the stampede happened at around 1am in the night, when “some revelers slipped on steps, causing dozens more people to fall over”. A witness told the newspaper: “It happened in a split second; people just fell, trampling each other. It was a disaster”. Another witness told Channel 12 TV: "No-one imagined that this could happen here, rejoicing became mourning, a great light became a deep darkness”.

Emergency services were still working hard to clear the zone and help injured people on Friday morning. They struggled to rescue people because of the density of attendance.

Among the 112 injured, six are in critical situation.

MDA MT. MERON UPDATES:



MDA blood services administered 207 units of blood last night to help save those hurt in the Meron Festival disaster.



We call on the public, especially those with type O blood, to come and donate to help the injured. pic.twitter.com/es14MO0saw

— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) April 30, 2021

Dozens of ambulances and 6 emergency helicopters were sent to the site. Empty buses were deployed to the region in North Israel to evacuate as many people as possible. Special trains were also used to evacuate people from the northern station Carmiel to Tel Aviv.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a “heavy disaster”. President Reuven Rivlin tweeted: “With great anxiety I follow the reports from Meron and pray for the healing of the wounded”.

According to The Jerusalem Post and N12, “approximately 90,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews had thronged to the Mount Meron tomb of 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for annual Lag Ba'omer commemorations” that include all-night prayer, bonfires, mystical songs and dance.

It was the most-attended event in Israel since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, although numbers were still below the usual attendance. A police spokesperson said the site had been checked for safety issues. “The event is under investigation, but it's worth noting that this year, there are fewer people on the mountain than in previous years”. 

Israel has allowed large gatherings after a successful vaccination campaign that has allowed to reduce safety restrictions.