At least 44 people have been killed and a hundred injured after a stampede broke out at a religious bonfire festival in Israel attended by tens of thousands of people on Friday.
The stampede, one of the deadliest civilian disasters in Israeli history, occurred during the annual celebrations of Lag B’Omer at Mount Meron.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he was praying for the victims following the “great tragedy”.
It was not immediately clear what caused the stampede, but some eyewitnesses said a group of attendees slipped on steps, which in turn caused more people to fall.
The crowds, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, were gathering to honour Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second century sage and mystic who is buried at the Galilee tomb.
Media estimated the crowd at about 100,000 people.
Large crowds traditionally light bonfires, pray and dance as part of the celebrations.
Eli Beer, director of the Hatzalah rescue service, said he was horrified by how crowded the event was, saying the site was equipped to handle perhaps a quarter of the number who were there.
“Close to 40 people died as a result of this tragedy,” he said.
