Two dead, at least 9 hurt in Netanya apartment building fire

An elderly man and woman died after being pulled from a burning apartment in the northern coastal city of Netanya on Tuesday, in a blaze that investigators said was believed to have been sparked by candles left burning unattended.

The pair, both in their 80s, were extricated from their apartment in critical condition.

Rescue services performed CPR on the man and woman before taking them to the city’s Laniado Hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.

An additional nine people suffering varying degrees of injuries were evacuated from the apartment building, including a 73-year-old woman in serious condition from smoke inhalation, a 42-year-old woman in moderate condition, and seven lightly injured people, including two toddlers.

A limited mass casualty incident was declared in the emergency department at Laniado Hospital.

According to Fire and Rescue Services, residents of the building were told to stay inside their homes as firefighters worked under thick smoke to extract those trapped and bring the blaze under control.

A spokesperson for the emergency service said on Wednesday that an initial investigation into the cause of the fire found it was likely the result of candles left burning unattended.

Simultaneously on Wednesday, a fire broke out at Laniado Hospital’s internal medicine department, seriously injuring one person.

According to initial investigations, the blaze erupted after a cigarette was lit near the oxygen supply system, triggering an immediate fire and injuring the person who lit the cigarette.