Couple drown in flooded underground lift as residents hear them trying to escape
A young couple who became trapped in an underground lift spent their last moments fighting for breath as they drowned in flood water.
Dean Shoshani and Stav Harari, both 25, desperately cried for help after the elevator at their apartment building started to fill up with torrential rain in Hatikvah, southern Tel Aviv, Israel. The couple could be heard "struggling to exit" the lift which was situated in the building's underground parking in January, 2020.
The horrifying incident unfolded after the doors became locked due to an electrical fault caused by the water which began pouring into the basement. It was reported that the lift began to flood through an opening. Residents attempted to alert emergency services but many of their calls were missed due to the increasing number of flood related calls that day.
One tenant, identified as Eli, said he called emergency services 16 times and was hung up on. Describing the terrifying ordeal, he said: "These people died in our hands. We heard them struggling to exit, we couldn't open the door. There was a moment when we stopped hearing them and we understood what had happened."
Dean Shoshani was killed in the lift (Facebook)Rescuers took more than half an hour to arrive to the scene, reports Daily Star. Crews had to use scuba gear to find the couple, who were rushed to hospital but declared dead. A relative of Mr Shoshani said the building's infrastructure was poorly maintained, and is blaming "criminal negligence" for the couple's horrific deaths.
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"It is carelessness toward the residents of the neighbourhood by the municipality, criminal negligence," they said. "How could it take so long for the emergency services to arrive?" It is very hard, fathers don't bury sons," he said. "Dean was charming, a great child, understanding. He always looked beyond."
Ms Harari's brother Amit took to Facebook where he expressed his grief. He wrote: "My older sister, light of the family, the most beautiful girl of all. I can't believe that I am waking up to a morning without you. It is not an easy thing to absorb, simply a tragedy for the family. A girl who only did good. I don't know how we will continue to live without you, you have left us with a wound that will never heal."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a review into how the couple died, despite multiple calls being placed to emergency services. "I asked PMO Acting Director General Ronen Peretz to convene a meeting today with all of the professional echelon in order to learn lessons so that such things do not recur," he said at his weekly Cabinet meeting.
The day after the deaths, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services issued a public warning about lifts during heavy rainfall. It said people should avoid entering underground areas or using elevators during flooding because of the risk of them short-circuiting. Even those with disabilities were told to avoid using lifts until heavy rainfall or flooding has stopped.
The following year, authorities closed the investigation into their deaths and said they could not point to “a person, body or authority that could be accused of a sufficient level of negligence in a criminal trial,” a statement read. Prosecutors confirmed a review was launched into the building plans, the elevator company's performance and the emergency services team. They said no criminal fault was found across the board, reports Times of Israel. Authorities also highlighted that there was around 100 millimetres of rain per hour. “It could not be determined that it was possible to prevent the tragic outcome,” the statement said.
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