Tragedy in Samaria: Marble Slab Falls from Truck, Kills Reservist on His 34th Birthday

A terrible disaster in Samaria: a 34-year-old worker and reserve soldier was killed when a heavy marble slab fell on him during work in the settlement of Sha'arei Tikva. Rescue forces rushed to the scene and were forced to pronounce him dead there after complex extrication efforts by firefighters.

The disaster occurred exactly on his 34th birthday.

The tragic and shocking incident took place this morning, Thursday, in the settlement of Sha'arei Tikva in the Sha'ar Shomron Regional Council. A 34-year-old man was killed at the scene as a result of a fatal work accident, when a heavy marble slab collapsed on him while he was working at a construction site in the settlement.

According to a report by Li Ayash, a reporter for i24NEWS, the victim was a reserve soldier who was crushed by a heavy marble slab. He was killed on his 34th birthday.

The serious incident occurred around 9:00 a.m. Emergency and rescue dispatch centers received urgent reports of a worker who had been struck by a heavy object during work near the amphitheater and Granit Street in the settlement. According to the initial reports, the deceased was critically injured after a marble surface and heavy load, lifted by a crane or unloaded from a truck, collapsed, trapping him underneath while he was unconscious and suffering from extremely severe multisystem injuries.

Firefighters were quickly dispatched to the scene along with expanded teams from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah. MDA medics and paramedics, working together with the firefighters who carried out the rescue of the trapped man, conducted medical assessments in the hope of providing life-saving treatment, but due to the nature of the severe and fatal injuries, they had no choice but to pronounce him dead at the scene.

MDA paramedic Tomer Gusman, who treated the difficult scene, recounted the moments of horror, saying: "They led us to the worker, he was trapped under the heavy load, unconscious, without a pulse and without breathing. During the complex extrication efforts by the firefighters, we performed appropriate medical examinations, but unfortunately his injury was extremely severe and fatal and we were forced to pronounce him dead at the scene."

David Ackerman and Dudi Nagar, emergency medical responders with United Hatzalah who also arrived quickly at the scene, added and said: "The other workers who were at the construction site told us in fear that during the routine work a very heavy slab fell on him from a truck. Sadly, the injuries were too severe and his death was pronounced at the scene."

Volunteers from ZAKA's Shomron region were also dispatched to the bloody scene. The volunteers, Or Shalit and Pinchas Luria, described the difficult sight that met them: "When we arrived at the scene, we encountered a difficult and shocking scene. This was a worker who was fatally and directly injured after a very heavy load, lifted during the work, fell on him with great force. The medical teams had to confirm his death, and we worked at the scene for many long hours preserving the dignity of the dead and collecting the many findings at the site."

At this stage, the circumstances of the terrible disaster are under joint investigation by the Israel Police and the work accident investigators of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, who are trying to determine whether this was a technical failure in the crane and lifting equipment, or negligence in the safety instructions at the site.