The festival turns into a funeral for 44 people in Israel

Witnesses of the stampede that killed 44 people in Mount Meron, northern Israel on the night of April 29, describe the panic and fear of crowds of pilgrims in the tragedy.
A man who survived the tragedy at the festival in Mount Meron, northern Israel, told the newspaper Maariv of Israel that he thought he would die when many around him were being trampled in chaos.

“We were at the door and wanted to go out, but the police blocked the door. Therefore, no one can go to pharmacy, ”said this person. “In a panic, we fell into each other. I thought I would be trampled to death. “I saw the dead right next to me,” he recalls. “I feel like I’m going to die” A man named David said to him Ynet that the stomping happened when people came to see the fire. “Suddenly a wave of people came. We were swept away. Some people were thrown into the sky, others were crushed on the ground, ”he described. “There was a baby trying to hold onto my leg for life. We waited for our rescue within 15-20 minutes amidst this insane crowd. It was terrible, ”he recalls. Aid workers tried to remove the injured from the scene. Photo: Reuters. “Time seems endless, around us are paralyzed dead,” another witness said Ynet . He was dragged out of the crowd by the police to avoid suffocating. “Some people were on me. I was on someone who couldn’t breathe anymore. Surrounded with screams, I could see the children below me. At that time, I just thought of not wanting my children to die. orphan, “another witness shared with Israeli media. A 24-year-old witness named Dvir recounts that a bunch of people have been cornered. The first row collapsed under the pressure of the crowd, then the second row, where he was standing. “I felt like I was going to die,” he said. The disaster caused rescuers to struggle to disperse the crowd and rescue victims from the scene. “We are holding about 30 children and cannot reach their parents,” said a relief worker Channel 12 . “I’ve never seen anything like this. We are not sure what happened, but the consequences are unimaginable, ”he said. “We think there is a warning about a suspicious package of bombs,” a pilgrim named Yizhak told. Channel 12 . Meanwhile, follow New York Times, It seems that the trampling happened when some people slipped over the stone steps leading into a narrow, steep, metal floor. Ynet describes this as a “waterfall stream”. A witness named Chaim Vertheimer said the ramp was slippery due to water, including fruit juice being spilled onto the floor. “Everyone stopped, but many people continued to come. I remember hundreds of people exclaiming: I can’t breathe, ”she said Ynet. The festival turns into a tragedy From the night of April 29, about 100,000 radical Orthodox Jews gathered in Mount Meron, northern Israel to hold a traditional religious festival. Around 1 am on April 30 (local time), disaster happened. Thousands of people stepped on each other, killing 44 people and injuring hundreds. There is currently no official conclusion on the cause of the case. Extreme orthodox Jews celebrate the Lag b’Omer festival on the 18th day of the month of Iyar on the Jewish calendar. Pilgrims set fire to fire and dance around the tomb of a second-century rabbi to commemorate the clergy’s death. This year, the festival is still held, although Israeli health officials warn of the danger of this event becoming a reservoir of Covid-19 infection. Bodies of the victims were removed from the scene. Photo: Times of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a terrible catastrophe”. He came to the scene to directly direct the rescue work. The leader also declared 1/5 as a national mourning day for victims of the disaster. Some of the pilgrims present at the scene questioned and chanted slogans against him, according Times of Israel . The area around the scene is divided into several small areas for crowd control. The disaster has raised many questions about weakness, even negligence in planning. The recorded videos show police trying to block people who want to escape from the scene. They may not be aware of the severity of the situation and wish the chaotic crowd did not spread to other areas. Some images also show a locked door in the emergency exit. Eli Levy, spokesman for Israeli police, said investigations were underway, but it was too early to blame or indictment of negligence. He also said that many of the pilgrims refused to leave despite the calls to evacuate. For the survivors, they were unable to understand what happened. “Nobody imagined it could happen. The glee turned into mourning. The bright light turned into a deep night,” the witness named Yitzhak told him. Channel 12. Deadly trampling at Israel’s largest religious festival At least 38 people were killed, 103 were injured in the trampling at Israel’s largest religious festival. Tens of thousands of people joined the event, despite the warnings.