Death toll in Tel Aviv garage collapse rises to 3, four still missing

The death toll from Monday morning’s parking garage collapse in Tel Aviv was raised to three late on Monday, with four people still missing in the rubble.

The third fatality was among those known to be trapped in the wreckage of the collapsed four-story underground parking garage.

Emergency response personnel continued digging through the night at the collapsed site in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood in hopes of rescuing the four construction workers still missing, but there had been contact with any of them since late afternoon.

The IDF said 500 soldiers and officers were involved in the efforts alongside a number of civilian organizations.

“Forces are continuing the rescue efforts and are prepared to continue operations throughout the night, and as much time as needed to save human lives,” an IDF statement said.

Five people had been pulled alive from the wreckage of the collapsed building site by Monday evening, in what the army called a “vigorous” search and rescue effort. At least 24 were injured in the Monday morning cave-in. One fatality was identified as a 28-year-old Ukrainian national.

Army emergency workers were “utilizing a wide variety of advanced rescue, medical and logistical tools to locate the missing workers,” the army said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cancelled his attendance at the Israel-Italy soccer match Monday evening to visit the wreckage site, praised the ongoing search and rescue efforts and expressed hope the missing workers would be found alive.

כוחותינו פועלים ברמה הגבוהה ביותר לחילוץ הלכודים בחניון שקרס בת״א. אני מתפלל שנגיע אליהם בזמן. החלמה מהירה לפצועים. pic.twitter.com/rkpYmqofSv

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 5, 2016

“The forces here are working as quickly as possible to try to save those trapped, it’s a difficult, challenging [but] professional effort,” he said, wishing those injured in the accident a speedy recovery.

Earlier on Monday, the Home Front Command said the locations of the remaining trapped construction workers “have been approximated and are being monitored.”

But Dudi Mizrahi, the head of the command’s Search and Rescue Unit, said at 8:30 p.m. that there had been no contact with any of the missing workers for more than two hours. “It’s been two or two-and-a-half hours since we had any connection” with the one trapped worker who had previously been communicating with rescuers, Mizrahi said. He said the search and rescue work could go on for days, but that “the chances of finding anyone alive” would obviously fade as the hours went by.

Mizrahi added that his team would remain on the ground “until the last trapped person is brought out from the rubble.”

Footage disseminated by emergency services showed one injured man being pulled from the rubble as medical personnel checked for his pulse and prepared to evacuate him to a hospital. The video also showed rescuers struggling to free a man trapped above them in the collapsed building. His arm could be seen as he reached out to the team trying to break through the concrete to bring him out.

The moment of the garage’s collapse was captured on a security camera, showing the ground suddenly give way and a cloud of dust rising up.

Investigators have placed a gag order on details of a probe into what caused the collapse, but workers described shaking in the hours before it happened.

The victims were taken to several nearby hospitals, including Ichilov, Beilinson, Tel Hashomer and Asuta, the latter of which is located right next to the scene.

The hospitals opened an emergency hotline (dial 1255133 from any Israeli phone line) for families seeking to check if their relatives are among the injured.