7:13PM EST: A suspected gas explosion rocked a four-story building in Netanya overnight Thursday, leaving three people dead and 49 others injured. The cause of the explosion was initially unknown, but Police officially announced that the explosion was caused by a gas tank or a number of tanks.
“This is not a terror attack,” a Netanya police spokesman said. A resident close to the scene of the bombing told Israel Radio he smelled a strong smell of gas.
Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharnovitch who arrived on the scene, told Israel Radio, “Our working assumption is that this was caused by a gas tank, although nothing is certain.” He added, “There is a stong smell of gas. What’s important now is to evacuate all the injured from the building. Searches are still underway…there are probably people on the upper floors that were not hurt but are trapped. It may take hours to get them out. The rescue services will go room by room to search for trapped people.”
MDA Paramedics said that three women were killed in the blast, two in their forties and one woman in her twenties.
MDA paramedics were on the scene attending to the wounded at the building, located in Netanya’s Atzmaut Square. Firefighters were also disconnecting the building from gas pipes and the electricity grid.
The injured were evacuated to the Laniado Medical Center in Netanya, Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera and Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba by MDA paramedics. Three of the wounded were listed as moderately injured, while 45 were slightly hurt.
A number of buildings around Atzmaut Square sustained heavy damage as a result of the blast. Police said there was “widescale destruction” in the blast area. A number of passers-by were lightly injured.
Police sealed off Atzmaut Square. Drivers were asked to keep away from the area.
(Source: Post)
6:00PM EST: At least three people were killed and 15 were wounded in a Netanya blast which occurred inside a restaurant (cafe).
A loud explosion was reported in a building in the city, north of Tel Aviv, after midnight, with police forces and ambulances rushing to the scene. Dozens of residents may be trapped in the building, officials said
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, with conflicting reports. Some say it was a gas explosion, and others say two Arabs were seen running from the restaurant following the blast.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service declared the explosion a multi-casualty event.
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3 Responses
JPost, Ynet, and Arutz-7 are all reporting that it was a gas tank explosion on th ethird floor and that it was not a terrorist attack.
It was a gas explosion
“A resident close to the scene of the bombing told Israel Radio he smelled a strong smell of gas.”
If by all accounts this was a gas tank explosion and not a terrorist attack, the word “bombing” should be amended to “explosion”.
Woe unto us that we are so accustomed to being bombed that that is the word that comes out by mistake. May Hahsem save us from tragic accidents and from the hands of our enemies.