During Shabbat: Gate crushes child to death, dog severely bites another child

A tragic Shabbat in Israel: A four-year-old boy dies in a gate accident, a toddler is bitten by a dog, six divers are hospitalized, and a 16-month-old girl dies after inhaling paint powder.

 AMBULANCES ARE parked at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital emergency room. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
AMBULANCES ARE parked at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital emergency room.
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

A four-year-old boy was killed on Saturday at his home in Or Akiva after his head got stuck in the bars of the home's gate, and he was crushed. He was freed by a rescue team and rushed to Hillel Yaffe Hospital while undergoing resuscitation efforts, but his death was eventually confirmed.

The tragic event occurred while the boy’s father was at the synagogue. Upon his return, he found his son trapped. Magen David Adom (MDA) teams were called to the scene.

Earlier on Saturday, a three-year-old girl was hospitalized at Assuta Hospital in Ashdod while in serious condition after being bitten by a pitbull dog in the Gederot Regional Council near Gedera. The police have opened an investigation into the case.

Concurrently, in Eilat, six people were evacuated for hyperbaric treatment at Yoseftal Hospital following a diving accident. The incident began around 8 a.m. when six young divers were pulled from the water near the Ktzi'ot Beach in Eilat. MDA medics and paramedics arrived at the scene and evacuated six individuals in moderate to light condition to Yoseftal Hospital. 

 Ambulances outside the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, on March 30, 2020. (credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90)
Ambulances outside the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, on March 30, 2020. (credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90)

A toddler inhaled paint powder on Friday

On Friday, the death of a 16-month-old toddler was confirmed at Rambam Hospital after she inhaled paint powder. The infant arrived at Ziv Hospital in Safed in critical condition and was transferred by helicopter to Rambam Hospital while undergoing resuscitation. There, she was connected to an ECMO machine.

Dr. Amir Hadash from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Rambam said, "We hoped that despite the toddler’s critical condition, the treatment she received would lead to an improvement, but the substance she inhaled caused multi-system failures. Unfortunately, despite all efforts, we were forced to confirm her death this afternoon.

"Our hearts go out to the family," the doctor concluded.