Rescuers this evening continued their search for dozens of people feared dead in the rubble of a Jerusalem wedding hall that collapsed overnight killing 30 people.
|
Israeli police said they had arrested eight people in connection with the nation's worst-ever civil disaster.
Many of the some 650 guests at a wedding party were sent plunging several storeys to the ground when the building collapsed because of what Israeli authorities said were structural faults.
"Those arrested include four owners, an engineer, a building contractor and two others involved," police spokesman Mr Shmuel Ben-Ruby said. "They will be held until we decide whether or not they should go to court."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expressed deep sorrow over the incident and vowed to get to the bottom of what he said was a "national disaster," with more than 300 people also injured.
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said he "suspected" building regulations had been violated at the building known as the Versailles Hall in the industrial suburb of Talpiot.
"One thing we have verified ... is that it was not an explosion, it was not an act of terror that caused this collapse," Mr Olmert said, as rescue workers behind him dug with their hands through shattered chunks of concrete and mangled metal to hunt for trapped bodies.
An army official at the site said at least 30 were dead and many more could still be buried under the ruins.
Mr Gabi Ofir, head of the specialist Israeli rescue unit, described the disaster as "the greatest tragedy of its kind in Israel's history.
"Searches will last at least five days and perhaps a week," said Mr Ofir. "From past experience, we are very hopeful of finding survivors during this time," adding that four people had been pulled out alive.
The Palestinian leadership, locked in a deadly eight-month conflict with Israel, offered its condolences and said instructions had been issued to offer assistance in rescue operations.
Wedding guest Ms Sarah Pinhas said: "We were eating the hors-d'oeuvres when I saw the bride's father, who was dancing, suddenly disappear. There was a huge noise, and the floor suddenly opened up, creating a huge hole."
The groom's mother, Ms Alice Dror - who said her father, brother, and sister-in-law are presumed to be dead - called for those responsible to be punished.
AFP