[VIDEO AND PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Notification arrived at about 5:00AM Tuesday morning 9 Iyar of a tunnel collapse with at least one construction worker trapped under the rubble. The tunnel is part of a major construction project near Kibbutz Reshafim, which is located two kilometers south of Beit Shean. Appropriate emergency agencies were alerted to respond as rescue efforts got underway to extricate the worker in the tunnel. The collapsed portion was reportedly about a half of a kilometer from the entrance.

The worker trapped inside has been identified as a Nazareth resident who was pronounced dead on the scene. Some 25 construction workers from Moldovia, China, Jews and Arabs who were inside the tunnel were miraculously saved in the collapse.

MDA paramedic Roman Bellman explained “We arrived during the early morning hours after receiving a call for a worker trapped under the rubble, apparently in a tunnel collapse. We could not reach him and efforts to reach him got underway as firemen and rescue workers began removing the rubble. After three hours we reached him and there were no longer any signs of life. he was pronounced dead at the scene”.

The first video shows the ongoing work in the major tunnel project. The second video shows the extrication workers following the fatal accident.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Videos and Photos: via Media Resource Group)