Jerusalem Gas Explosion Kills Elderly Woman, Injures Man Seriously

An woman about 80 years old was killed and a man about 50 was seriously injured in a powerful explosion that caused extensive destruction in a residential building on HaMalakh Street in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

A preliminary investigation by Fire and Rescue says the disaster was caused by a severe gas leak in the kitchen of one of the apartments, which reached flammable levels and led to the deadly explosion.

Another injured person, a man about 50, was rescued from the building conscious and in serious condition, suffering severe burns throughout his body, and was urgently evacuated for further medical treatment at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. In addition to the human casualties, a dog that was in the building was rescued from the scene and injured in the explosion.

Because of the difficult location and the narrow, crowded alleys typical of the Old City, MDA teams had to make their way to the scene using special all-terrain vehicles.

Dan Shoshan and Yosef Zilberstein, United Hatzalah medics, said: "We were told at the scene that they were injured by a gas cylinder explosion. We provided them with initial medical treatment at the scene. Unfortunately, we had to pronounce the death of a woman, about 70, because of the severe injuries. We also provided medical assistance to a man, about 50, who was moderately injured. He was evacuated for further medical treatment at a hospital."

Fire and Rescue said that a preliminary examination showed that "the source of the incident is most likely a gas leak from the kitchen area of one of the apartments, which reached flammable levels and caused the explosion." Firefighters who were dispatched to the scene upon receiving the report immediately identified significant structural damage. The teams acted quickly to completely disconnect all sources of electricity and energy in the building to prevent secondary explosions, and carried out extensive and thorough searches of the building and its surroundings to rule out the presence of additional trapped people under the rubble, stabilize the scene, and remove immediate hazards.