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At Least 25 Confirmed Dead in Building Collapse in Jerusalem
Rescuers excavated 10 more bodies from the rubble of a collapsed building in west Jerusalem on Friday, bringing to at least 25 the death toll from the accident that happened late Thursday.
Some 300 others were also injured in the disaster, the worst of its kind in a decade, which occurred in a Jerusalem suburb of Talpiot Thursday evening, according to Israeli television reports.
The death toll is expected to rise further as rescuers were searching for dozens of wedding guests who are still trapped among the shattered concrete and twisted steel supports. The rescue operation, expected to last three days, has to be carried out by hand for fear that heavy machinery may cause further collapse of the building.
The Israeli army sent special teams including the one which joined in earthquake rescue operations in Turkey last year to pull out people from the debris.
Some 100 ambulances, many from the Tel Aviv area, some 60 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, made their way to Jerusalem to assist in evacuating the injured.
Jerusalem hospitals have declared a state of emergency. Hospital sources said that at least 20 of the injured are in a serious condition. Jerusalem police have appealed for more ambulances, blood donations and hospital volunteer workers.
Jerusalem Police Chief Miki Levi told Israel Radio: "We are talking about a major disaster. Dozens are trapped under the ruins ... it appears to have been caused by a serious engineering failure."
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said at the scene of the disaster that the Jerusalem police and Israeli army had held a dry run of rescue works in recent weeks to prepare for a possible large-scale terrorist attack, which may help the evacuation work.
Eyewitnesses said that it felt like an earthquake or a bomb explosion when the building collapsed, but a Jerusalem police spokesman categorically denied that it was a terrorist attack or a bombing incident.
According to the spokesman, at least 700 people were attending wedding festivities in the three-story building when the roof of the second floor collapsed, bringing down the ceilings of the floors below.
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