The Mount Meron crowd crush killed 45 people, making it the deadliest civil disaster in Israel's history.
Key Facts
- Deaths
- 45 men and boys killed
- Injured
- approximately 150
- Estimated attendance
- 100,000 people
- Date and time
- 30 April 2021, ~00:45 IDT
- Occasion
- Lag BaOmer pilgrimage, tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
- Arrests
- Safety engineer and assistant arrested 10 May 2021
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered at Mount Meron for the annual Lag BaOmer celebration. COVID-19 precautions had partitioned bonfire areas, creating unrecognised choke-points, and bonfires were lit sequentially rather than simultaneously, drawing crowds from one area to another. State authorities had previously warned of overcrowding risks but no adequate controls were in place.
At approximately 00:45 IDT on 30 April 2021, celebrants pouring out of one section of the compound were funnelled down a sloping, wet metal passageway toward a staircase. People tripped and slipped near the top; those behind, unaware, continued pushing forward. Those at the bottom were trampled, crushed, and asphyxiated by compression in what became the deadliest crowd crush in Israeli history.
Forty-five people died and around 150 were injured, dozens critically. Police arrested the safety engineer and his assistant within two weeks. A state commission of inquiry chaired by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor was established on 27 June 2021 to investigate the disaster and issue recommendations to the government.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 45 (other)