JERUSALEM, 30 April, 2021 (TON): On Friday, at least 44 people and about 150 injured in a sudden rush at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of Jews in northern Israel.

Medical officials said, it was one of the country’s deadliest civilian disasters.

The stampede occurred during the celebrations of Lag BaOmer at Mount Meron, the first mass religious gathering to be held legally since Israel lifted nearly all restrictions related to the pandemic.

Lag BaOmer draws tens of thousands of people, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, each year to honor Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic who is buried there. Large crowds traditionally light bonfires, pray and dance as part of the celebrations.

The panic began when large numbers of people trying to exit the site thronged a narrow tunnel-like passage, according to witnesses and video footage.

People began falling on top of each other near the end of the walkway, as they descended slippery metal stairs, witnesses said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the stampede a “great tragedy” and said everyone was praying for the victims.

However, the death toll was on par with the number of people killed in a 2010 forest fire, which is believed to be the deadliest civilian tragedy in the country’s history.