Dozens of people were killed in a stampede at a religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, medics said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described it as a “heavy disaster”.
Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had gathered at the tomb of the 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for annual commemorations that include all-night prayer and dance.
Local media have put the number of dead at 38. Israeli media published an image of a row of bodies covered in plastic bags on the ground.
Police shut down the site and ordered revellers to be evacuated by bus.