A synagogue was hosting 650 worshipers for Shavuot prayers, authorities said.
May 16, 2021, 7:36 PM
• 4 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleAt least two people were killed, including a child, and dozens were injured Sunday when a bleacher sitting people for Shavuot prayers collapsed in Jerusalem, authorities said.
The incident is not connected with the ongoing fighting between Israel and Gaza, according to officials.
Medics and members of the Israeli security forces evacuate an injured child after the collapse of grandstand seating at a synagogue in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev in the occupied West Bank outside Jerusalem, on May 16, 2021, that left at least 60 people injured. - The incident occurred "as hundreds were congregated" for the Jewish Shavuot feast, a spokesman told Israeli channel Kan. (Photo by Gil COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)
A police spokesperson said 650 worshippers were in the synagogue located in the Givat Ze'ev settlement for the start of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said that the grandstand that seated some of the worshipers collapsed. Security footage showed people falling on top of each other.
Israeli medics evacuate an injured ultra-Orthodox Jewish man after the collapse of grandstand seating at a synagogue in Givat Zeev in Jerusalem, May 16, 2021.
As of Sunday at 3:15 p.m. ET, two people had died -- a 40-year-old worshiper and a 12-year-old worshiper, officials said. There were 167 people injured as of Sunday afternoon, five of whom were in critical condition and 10 who were moderately wounded, the officials said.
The bleacher collapse comes more than two weeks after 45 Jewish pilgrims were crushed to death on Israel's Mount Meron in a stampede in a narrow passageway during annual celebrations at the burial site of a Jewish sage.
