The death of firefighter Dekel Yehudah Marciano, z’l, was determined on Tuesday morning at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, where doctors have been fighting for his life since he was injured in a rescue attempt in the Arab town of Deir al-Asad in the Galil on Sunday.

Marcianao, 33, z’l, was a resident of the northern Israeli city of Ma’alot and left behind a wife and three children, the youngest of whom is only a month old.

His colleague, Israeli-Druze fireman Adnan Assad, 40, who also fell in the pit, died on Sunday. The two died attempting to rescue a 21-year-old Palestinian from Chevron who was in Israel illegally. He was also pronounced dead on Sunday.

Dr. Uriel Trahtemberg, the head of the ICU at the Galilee Medical Center said that he believes that the men lost consciousness in the pit due to natural gases. “When you throw horse manure or organic waste into the pit, it ferments and decomposes,” he said. “As a result of these processes, organic gases are released and accumulate at the bottom of the pit. They don’t rise up and don’t disperse and the oxygen percentage at the bottom of the pit is very low. It’s likely, they lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen.”

The police are conducting an investigation into the deadly incident.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)