5 children among 45 deaths in deadly stampede in Israel

Jerusalem, May 2 (IANS) Five children, aged from nine to 14, are among the 45 victims who were killed in a stampede disaster at Mount Meron in northern Israel on Thursday night, the country's health ministry said.The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that 42 of the 45 people killed in the tragedy have been identified so far.The process of identifying victims was resumed on Saturday evening after it was stopped on Friday afternoon for religious reasons, it added.Described as Israel's worst civil disaster ever, the stampede took place during a festival celebrated on the eve of the Jewish holiday Lag BaOmer and resulted in 45 deaths and at least 150 injuries, the Xinhua news agency reported.More than 100,000 people participated in the festival, most of them ultra-Orthodox Jews.Following the disaster, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday as a national day of mourning.
--IANS int/rs