Versailles wedding hall disaster
the land where the disaster happened after the demolition of the building
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| Date | 24 May 2001 |
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| Time | 22:43 |
| Location | Talpiot, Jerusalem, Israel |
| Coordinates | 31°44′54.10″N 35°12′58.94″E / 31.7483611°N 35.2163722°ECoordinates: 31°44′54.10″N 35°12′58.94″E / 31.7483611°N 35.2163722°E |
| Cause | Insufficient load capacity due to flawed structural design |
| Deaths | 23 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 380 |
| Charges | Manslaughter, Negligence |
The Versailles wedding hall (Hebrew: אולמי ורסאי), located in Talpiot, Jerusalem, Israel, was the site of the most lethal civil disaster in Israel's history. At 22:43 on May 24, 2001, during the wedding of Keren and Asaf Dror, a large portion of the third floor of the four-story building collapsed. As a result, 23 people fell to their deaths through two stories, including the groom's 80-year-old grandfather and his three-year-old second cousin, the youngest victim. Another 380 were injured, including the bride who suffered serious pelvic injuries that required surgery. Asaf, who escaped serious injury, carried her in his arms from the rubble.
The disaster shocked the Israeli public not only because it was one of the worst building disasters in the country's history, but because the event was documented on a camcorder and broadcast on local and international television.
Rescue efforts were carried out by the Home Front Command's Search & Rescue Unit and the Yachtza reserve unit. Rescue efforts commenced immediately after the collapse and continued until 4pm on Saturday May 26, 2001. Three people were pulled from the rubble alive and 23 bodies were removed.
An investigation of the event concluded that the event was not caused by a terrorist attack. This was based on the testimony provided by many of the wedding guests present in the building during the disaster. Witnesses reported seeing a dangerous sag in the floor moments before the collapse. An initial inquiry blamed the collapse on the Pal-Kal method of constructing light-weight coffered concrete floor systems which was already banned before the completion of the wedding hall after it was known and proven to be unsafe. Further review pointed to a combination of two alternate causes.
Initially, the side of the building that failed was designed to be a two story structure, while the other side was designed to be three stories. Late in the construction process, it was decided that both sides of the building should be equal heights, and a third story was added to the shorter side. However, the live load due to occupancy is typically much greater than the design load for a roof. As a result, the structure supporting the new third story was subjected to much greater loading than was originally anticipated. The effect of this error was somewhat mitigated by the construction of partitions on the floor below, which helped redistribute the excess load well such that no damage was incurred.
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Wikipedia