Around 44 people have been crushed to death after a stampede at a religious bonfire festival in Israel, rescue officials have said.
Dozens more were hurt at the Lag B’Omer event in northern Mount Meron, where annual commemorations included all-night prayer and dancing.
Chaotic scenes were captured on social media, showing men clambering through gaps in sheets of torn corrugated iron as they tried to escape the crush in the early hours of the morning. The Magen David Adom rescue service said 38 people had been killed at the scene.
It said its paramedics treated dozens of people, including 18 in a serious condition, 2 who were moderately hurt, and 80 lightly injured. All the wounded were evacuated to hospitals.
The wounded were taken to the Ziv hospital in Safed, the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Rambam hospital in Haifa, Poriya hospital in Tiberias, and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.
