Chandelier Collapses In Wedding Hall In Yavne - One Dead, Close To 30 Injured.... updated

At least one person was killed, and at least two dozen injured when a lighting system crashed down at a wedding hall in Yavne, Israel on Monday night.

The party was for a “Henna” (a custom that certain Sefardim have that make a party the night before the wedding), and hundreds of people were in the room. 

For reasons still unknown, a massive chandelier came crashing to the ground. At least one person is dead, and around two dozen are injured. Three of them are reportedly in serious condition.

A Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) has been declared, with scores of Magen David Adom, United Hatzalah and Zaka operating on the scene.

Some reports say that multiple chandeliers fell.

UPDATED

Light fixture, about 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter, was supposed to descend from the ceiling, but instead collapsed on a bar • "My world was destroyed on the day of my son's wedding," says groom's mother . Event hall operated without a license.

A woman was killed and 21 people were hurt late Monday when a light fixture collapsed on a wedding party at an event hall in Yavne. 

The fixture, about 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter, collapsed onto a wet bar, causing moderate injuries to one man and light injuries to 20 more people.

The three owners of the event hall have been taken into police custody for questioning.

Gila Levy, the mother of the groom described the turn of events: "It happened at 12:30 a.m. The special light fixture that is supposed to descend from the ceiling collapsed suddenly. I heard an explosion, and I thought that it was plates, that something had been dropped, and suddenly my eyes go dark. Blood, people on the floor. It was like a terrorist attack.

"My world was destroyed on the day of my son's wedding," she went on to say. "It is a feeling of complete helplessness. I am still in shock, I never dreamed something like this could happen to me. My daughter-in-law said to me 'everyone said our wedding was so unique but we never dreamed it would be this unique.' Everything was perfect. 

There were 800 guests, an upscale venue, everyone was happy, and then suddenly, in one fell swoop, everything was ruined."

The woman who was killed, Aviva Hayun, 54, was the wife of the bride's uncle. 

According to Israeli media, an initial police investigation has so far revealed that the event hall had been operating without a license. The venue began operating about a year ago and apparently received all the necessary permits, but in the absence of one permit from the Health Ministry, a permanent license was never issued.

The attorney representing the event hall owners argued that they were in the process of obtaining a permanent license and were in the midst of completing the necessary paperwork.

A paramedic who treated the wedding guests at the scene recounted: "There was a lot of confusion. Some of the injured were walking around and some were lying on the ground in the center of the hall. People were panicked and tried to make their way outside the hall.

"We performed initial triage and honed in on three people lying on the ground. One of them, a woman, was unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse. We began administering life saving treatment, but sadly we had to pronounce her dead at the scene. Another man sustained injuries to his head, and he was fully conscious and labeled in moderate condition. The rest were lightly hurt," he said