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15 killed, 300 Wounded in Building Collapse in Jerusalem
At least 15 Israelis were killed and some 300 others injured in a building collapse incident, the biggest one in a decade, in Jerusalem suburb of Talpiot Thursday evening, Jerusalem Police spokesman said early Friday morning.
Eyewitnesses on the spot said that it felt like an earthquake or a bomb explosion when the building collapsed, but the 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-storey building when the roof of the second floor collapsed, bringing down the ceilings of the floors below.
Police and Israeli army teams are searching for at least dozens of wedding guests who are still trapped amongst the shattered concrete and twisted steel supports. Initial police assessments said the rescue operation could last three days and the death toll could continue rising.
The Israeli army sent special teams that have experiences in earthquake rescue works like the one in Turkey last year to extract 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 serious condition. Jerusalem police have appealed for more ambulances, blood donation 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, who arrived at the scene of the disaster, revealed that the Jerusalem police and Israeli army have held a dry run of rescue works in recent weeks to prepare for a possible large-scale terror attack, which may help the evacuation work.
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