Police now estimate there are some 400,000 mourners in attendance, with more arriving every minute. Police Commander Yohanon Danino, in a televised interview, pleads with further mourners to stay away, and warns that “the funeral could end in a tragedy” because of the vast crowds.
Police crowd control reinforcements are themselves stuck in the crowd, he adds. “We see masses converging on the yeshiva from where the funeral procession is set to leave… Our request, our demand, for the sake of the rabbi’s honor, we must do everything we can to avoid loss of life.”
“We see huge crowds crowding the rooftops, some of them hanging from antennas… we are doing what we can to bring them down,” he adds.
“There is real danger of loss of life,” Danino says, but “we have to let the procession pass as it must. Our central role is to look out for the hundreds of thousands who have arrived… and ensure they return to their homes in peace.”
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