A truck carrying Lag B’Omer celebrants overturned on a steep road yesterday killing 14 and injuring 40 of the 58 persons aboard. The accident occurred on a sharp downgrade leading to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee The truck was one of four that was taking about 200 Ashdod residents to Miron for Lag B’Omer festivities. The victims were treated at various hospitals in northern Israel. Medical teams and blood plasma were rushed to the area from Tel Aviv.
The tragedy marred an otherwise joyous holiday that sent thousands of Israelis to the seashore and woodlands under warm, sunny skies. Lag B’Omer is traditionally a day of weddings and hundreds were performed all over the country yesterday. The newlywed couples included Yuval Rabin son of Premier Yitzhak Rabin, and his bride, the former Eilat Sengor.
Miron in northern Israel is the traditional site of Lag B’Omer celebrations. Singing and dancing around bon fires continued into the wee hours. Religious families, mainly from the Sephardic community, gathered at Safad in Galilee for a huge bon fire at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
