An explosion at a defense plant Sunday morning killed two workers and injured five others, two of them critically.
The blast that ripped through a factory of Israel Military Industries in central Israel, shaking houses for miles around, was initially classified as a technical failure or “work accident.”
The two most seriously injured victims were rushed to the government’s Sheba Hospital at Tel Hashomer. One of the men had burns over 95 percent of his body and the other was 60 percent burned. Hospital sources said they may not live.
The lesser injured were taken to Assaf Harofe Hospital in Tzrifin, where two were reported released and sent home Sunday afternoon.
IMI, a government-owned enterprise, appointed a committee of ranking executives and outside experts to investigate the tragedy.
Coincidentally, the government’s finance committee was scheduled Sunday to discuss the recommendations of a commission which investigated a fatal accident at a similar IMI plant two years ago.
The commission proposed that all IMI installations be classified as high risk and moved from populated parts of the country to isolated sites in the Negev.
The cost of moving has been estimated at between $500 and $700 million. Debate on the proposal was postponed until after the elections.
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