Casualties after West Bank synagogue bleacher collapse
May 16, 2021
Two people have died and more than 150 were injured in a bleacher collapse at a West Bank synagogue, Israeli medics said on Sunday.
The bleacher collapsed during prayers at the beginning of a major Jewish holiday, killing "a 40-year-old man and a 12-year-old-boy," the Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom said in a statement.
The incident occurred "as hundreds were congregated" for the Jewish festival of Shavuot, a Magen David Adom emergency services spokesman told Israeli public television channel Kan.
'Under construction'
The structure was "under construction", he added.
"Praying in this building was forbidden," local police commander Doron Tourgeman said at the site.
"My heart goes out to the victims," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Twitter, adding that army forces were seeking to assist with the evacuation.
Rescue workers are on the scene, treating the wounded whilst others were rushed to hospital.
The collapse comes just a few weeks after 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews were killed in a stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel.
jsi/jlw (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)