Israeli army announces end of search for survivors in Tel Aviv collapsed building

Israel's military said on Saturday that it concluded the searches for survivors and casualties in a collapsed Tel Aviv construction site, five days after the accident that cost the lives of six men.

The statement came after the rescuers extracted one last body of a construction worker who was missing since the accident.

No more people, dead or alive, are believed to be under the rubbles, the authorities said.

The four-story car park in Ramat Hachayal, a high-tech offices quarter of Tel Aviv, collapsed on Monday, injuring 23 people.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the bodies of casualties were taken to the national forensic institute to ascertain their identity.

So far, the authorities identified three bodies: Ahed Rimawi, 34, from Beit Rima, a Palestinian village outside the West Bank city of Ramallah; Denis Dianchko, 28, a citizen of Ukraine; and Oleg Yakobov, 60, an Israeli citizen from Tel Aviv.

All of the victims were construction workers at the site, which was still under construction at the time of the accident. The car park was supposed to become usable in two weeks, with about 600 parking slots.

About 500 Home Front Command soldiers, police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel worked around the clock to find survivors.

"For six days, forces of the Home Front search and rescue forces, both active and reserve forces, have been operating to save lives from the destruction site," Major General Yoel Strik, head of the Home Front Command, said in a statement.

"Today the efforts have come to an end with the extraction of the last trapped from under the rubble, unfortunately lifeless. We send our condolences to the families," he said.

The reasons for the collapse were unclear.

Israel has a high number of construction accidents. According to figures from the Economy and Industry Ministry, 30 workers were killed in construction sites since the beginning of 2016.
 [Xinhua/globaltimes.cn]
11/9/16