United Hatzalah volunteers responded to a scaffolding collapse that took place on HaRakefet Street in Givat Ze’ev Monday at 12:04 PM. First responders, including ambulance teams, treated five people who were injured as a result of the collapse.
A worker in his 30s was killed and two others were seriously and moderately injured as a result of the collapse of scaffolding at a construction site of a 12-story building on Rakfat Street in Givat Ze’ev. One of the workers was trapped under the scaffolding and is unconscious.
MDA medics Eli Raimonud and Moshe Blach reported: “When we arrived there was a commotion and we heard screams, we saw a pile of scaffolding that had collapsed from a height of a 12-story building. We noticed some workers walking around the place after having an anxiety attack. We tried to get information from the site managers about how many workers were working at the site at the same time to make sure they were all located.”
United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs Yossi Guthold and Avi Yudakowsky who were among the first responders at the scene reported: “Large pieces of scaffolding collapsed at a construction site. We treated five people who sustained varying degrees of injuries as a result of the collapse and our ambulance team transported one of them to the hospital. Firefighters pulled one person from the wreckage who was already dead and there was nothing for us to do to treat him.”
Volunteer Paramedic Neria Nissim who also responded to the scaffolding collapse added: “In addition to those we managed to treat thus far, there is one other person who is still trapped and unconscious. Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit were dispatched to the scene and treated eyewitnesses who were suffering from emotional and psychological stress.”
One of the workers at the site said that the scaffolding fell from a height of about 30 meters on the workers who were working below.
“We heard a boom and saw dust. We didn’t understand what happened, we thought sand was being poured,” he said.
Another worker said: “To everyone’s great fortune, it happened during our lunch break and only six workers were working on the scaffolding.”
