A balcony collapsed onto a restaurant in Jerusalem's Rehavia-Shaarei Chesed neighborhood on Monday afternoon, killing one person and injuring several others, with rescue teams continuing to search the rubble for additional victims believed to be trapped.
The collapse occurred at the corner of Keren Kayemet L'Israel Street and Ibn Shaprut Street, near the Gra Synagogue and close to the site of the former Maalot HaTorah yeshiva. According to Jerusalem fire and rescue services, the structure is a three-story residential building whose second-floor balcony gave way and crashed onto a restaurant on the ground floor, causing extensive damage to both the building and the business below.
Zaka Jerusalem confirmed that one trapped individual was extracted from the site without signs of life. Separately, fire crews from the Umah district station later pulled an elderly man, approximately 80 years old, from the rubble. He was immediately transferred to medical teams on scene, and his condition was described as critical.
Magen David Adom reported receiving the initial call to its 101 dispatch center and said its paramedics were treating three additional people for light injuries. Medics and paramedics from United Hatzalah were also on scene assisting several conscious casualties.
Fire officials said that when the collapse first occurred, two people were pulled from the debris by civilians who happened to be nearby. Firefighters have since focused their efforts on locating and extracting additional trapped individuals, including two people believed to still be inside the restaurant. Crews say the operation is ongoing, with extensive searches underway through the rubble to rule out further casualties.
