16 injured, 2 seriously, in Safed hotel fire
Casualties, mostly teens, suffering from smoke inhalation, taken to local hospital; cause of blaze unknown
Sixteen people were injured Sunday, two of them seriously, in a fire at a hotel in the northern city of Safed.
The other 14 people suffered light to moderate injuries.
The casualties, aged 17-20, suffered from smoke inhalation before being rescued by firefighters from the Hametsuda hotel on Jerusalem Street in the center of the mountain city.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated the victims at the scene and then took them to Ziv Medical Center for further treatment, where their conditions were stabilized.
Reports identified the 16 as tourists but no further details were given.
An initial investigation showed the fire broke out in the lobby of the hotel and spread to the first and second floors, although the cause of the blaze was not known, police said.
