5 Indicted in Bridge Collapse Fatal to 4

Five Israelis were charged with negligent homicide in the construction of a bridge that collapsed at a summer sporting event, killing four Australian athletes. The indictments were submitted to a Tel Aviv magistrate in connection with the July 14 collapse of a footbridge at the opening ceremonies of the Maccabiah Games, a Jewish Olympic-style event. About 100 Australian athletes were on the bridge when it collapsed, plunging them into Israel’s polluted Yarkon River. Two athletes drowned after the bridge collapsed, while two others died later from what were believed to be the effects of swallowing polluted river water. Another athlete, Sasha Elterman, 15, remains in serious condition in a Sydney hospital.