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KAMEDO Report No. 85: Collapse of Building during Wedding Reception in Jerusalem, 2001

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Per-Plof Michel
Affiliation:
National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service Webstore or National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service SE-120 88 Stockholm Fax: +46 8 779 96 67, E-mail: socialstyrelsen@strd.se
Anders Sylvan
Affiliation:
National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service Webstore or National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service SE-120 88 Stockholm Fax: +46 8 779 96 67, E-mail: socialstyrelsen@strd.se
Helge Brändström
Affiliation:
National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service Webstore or National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service SE-120 88 Stockholm Fax: +46 8 779 96 67, E-mail: socialstyrelsen@strd.se
Eva Magnusson
Affiliation:
National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service Webstore or National Board of Health and Welfare Customer Service SE-120 88 Stockholm Fax: +46 8 779 96 67, E-mail: socialstyrelsen@strd.se

Abstract

What is now known as the “Versailles Disaster” began as a wedding celebration in Jerusalem on 24 May 2001. The reception was held in the third floor banqueting hall of a hotel, the floor of which subsequently collapsed, crashing through the second and first floors of the building. Four hundred people fell with the floor, and 310 injured people were evacuated using the scoop-and-run principle. The total number of dead was 23, which was less than mighthave been expected. Israel's on-site disaster management system of giving control to the first paramedic on the scene appeared to work well; however, the other emergency services did not act in coordination with the paramedics. The hospitals managed patients efficiently and social workers were mobilized quickly to assist people experiencing psychological trauma.

Type
Special Report
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2007

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