The explosion caused panic - the residents who were in the shelter had difficulty breathing

(haipo) - A vehicle exploded and burned completely in Kiryat Yam, on the night between Thursday and Friday (11/10/24). The noise of the explosion startled the residents of the adjacent building, on Yosef Tal Street in the city, who were staying in the common shelter at the time. The residents even reported that they experienced breathing difficulties as a result of the smell, soot and smoke that penetrated the shelter.

That night the tenants (about 30 tenants in the building), some of whom even sleep in the shelter due to the security circumstances, heard a loud explosion. Initially it was not clear if the origin of the explosion was a missile interception or if it was another event. A short time later, thick smoke accompanied by a strong smell of soot began to penetrate into the shelter, causing those staying there to feel suffocated.

Dov Chaimovitz, one of the building's tenants, said in a face-to-face conversation:
"The pungent smell of the burnt rubber and other parts of the vehicle simply suffocated us, in addition to the amounts of smoke emitted. I suffer from asthma and could hardly breathe. There were 32 of us in a shelter, without air conditioning or adequate ventilation, and it was unbearable."

The residents appealed to the municipality with a request to tow away the skeleton of the vehicle as soon as possible, due to the fear that toxic particles will continue to be emitted from it. According to the tenants, their request has not been answered until this moment.

The municipality of Kiryat Yam said:
"The municipality is acting according to the law and has contacted the owner of the vehicle. Once a police permit is received that will determine the cause of the fire, as well as the approval of the insurance company, then the vehicle can be removed in an orderly manner.
Before the law, even though it is a private vehicle, the authority is making efforts to speed up the required approvals as stated."