Aftermath of Gilo gas explosion
Aftermath of Gilo gas explosionFlash90

A 60 year-old woman critically injured in last week's gas explosion in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem has died of her wounds Monday, announced Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. Her name has not yet been released. 

The explosion displaced 24 families, wounded 11 and killed three family members: Abraham Tufan (56), his wife Galit (42), and their infant son Joseph. 

At about 1 a.m. a week ago Sunday, MDA received numerous calls reporting the blast in southern Jerusalem. Immediately, emergency care ambulances, cars and other vehicles, carrying tens of paramedics and on-call staff. The forces arriving on the scene found massive destruction accompanied by an eerie silence. They and were soon joined by police and fire department forces. MDA called the IDF's Homefront Command to the scene as well.

Moments later several wounded residents emerged from the building that stood in danger of collapsing; further investigation revealed more wounded. MDA staff administered treatment to 15 injured who were located and rescued from the building.

Among them were Avraham and Galit Tufan, found without a pulse and not breathing. MDA pronounced them dead at the site. Their son, not yet 3, was found in an apartment that was the epicenter of the explosion. The three were evacuated to the hospital in critical condition. Upon reaching Shaarei Tzedek Hospital the three year old was pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, the gas technician accused of criminal negligence leading to the explosion will return to work Tuesday at Supergas, one of Israel's largest gas suppliers. 

More than 100 families who suffered personal or property loss int the incident met last Tuesday to discuss a class-action suit against Supergas.

In a statement released through his attorney, the technician said that “I acted according to the company's requirements. My conscience is clear. I sympathize with the families,” he said. “I wish I would have been called by the residents of the apartment where the leak took place. I was not called by them, I was called to a different apartment and conducted a thorough examination, as required by the company,” he added.