Rescuers hold out hope for men trapped in TA garage rubble

The search continued overnight Monday-Tuesday for four construction workers trapped in the rubble of a four-story underground parking garage that collapsed on Monday morning in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

At least three people were killed, among them a Ukrainian national. Two bodies were retrieved on Monday and a third was found overnight.

At least four construction workers are believed to still be buried in the wreckage as emergency response personnel continued digging through the site in the hopes of rescuing them.

There had been some contact with those trapped during the day on Monday, but not since the late afternoon, according to authorities.

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

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

Earlier Monday, five people had been pulled alive from the wreckage, 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 canceled 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 that there had been no contact with any of the missing workers since about 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

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 take 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 feeling a shaking in the structure 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.