Two drown in a lift in Tel Aviv flood
A couple in the 20s drowned on Saturday when torrential rains in Tel Aviv flooded the elevator they were in.
Paramedics from Magen David Adom performing Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), after Israeli Fire and Rescue fighters rescued people who were trapped in a flooded elevator in a building in Hatikva neighbourhood. Two people died. Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv, Jan 4, 2020. Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS
An initial investigation into the incident indicates that the man and woman went down to the underground parking lot in their building to check on their car when flooding caught them inside the elevator.
Neighbours heard them banging on the panels of the elevator and alerted the rescue services. The Fire Department dispatched an elite rescue unit which sawed of the elevator’s roof and recovered their bodies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he is “shocked at the tragic death of two residents of Tel Aviv who were killed in the elevator disaster.”
He spoke with the Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, the Transportation Minister Betzalel Smotrich, the Israel Police Acting Commissioner Moti Cohen and the Fire and Rescue Service Commissioner Dedi Simchi “to clarify how this happened and how similar disasters might be prevented in the future.”
Tel Aviv received several inches of rain within a short time period, causing mass flooding of vast areas. Several other people were rescued by emergency services after being injured or jeopardized by the weather. MDA medical teams treated 11 individuals.
Homes were flooded and heavy damage was caused to property.
The country, in general, experienced a wintry weekend with heavy rains throughout the country and heavy snow on Mount Hermon and the northern Golan Heights.
TPS
