Tragedy hit the city of Tel Aviv on Monday morning as an underground parking garage collapsed killing 2 and wounding at least 17. The incident occurred in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood in Northern Tel Aviv, a high tech center. Emergency officials responding to the site worked tirelessly to free the trapped individuals from the rubble. A collapse of this nature poses 2 threats of grievous injury; trauma injury from the collapse, and suffocation of trapped individuals.
Witnesses at the scene described how suddenly the ground above the garage started to collapse, thereby trapping many of the construction workers and pedestrians below.
Police sources state that the underground parking garage had four floors, three of which collapsed in today’s incident. Rescue teams have thus far been unable to reach the lowest floor.
The direct cause of the collapse has not been released.
Israeli emergency response teams are lauded internationally, and are frequently sent to participate in rescue missions throughout the world.