4th Victim of Israel Bridge Collapse Dies; Pollution Questions Multiply

JERUSALEM — A fourth victim of a bridge collapse at last month’s Maccabiah Games died Sunday of complications from a respiratory infection, raising new questions about whether polluted river water contributed to the deaths.

Warren Zines, 56, a member of the Australian lawn bowling team from Sydney, died in the intensive care unit of Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv.

The hospital said Zines died of a neurological complication on top of a general failure of his internal systems. The hospital report said he was admitted with a severe infection of the respiratory tract brought about by swallowing great quantities of water containing microbes.

“We deeply regret there is yet another death in this terrible episode,” said Ian Wilcock, the Australian ambassador to Israel.

“It looks as though his death is linked to toxins in the water. It was clearly not just a drowning,” Wilcock said.

Yona Tennenbaum of the National Coroner’s Office said that “there is a connection between the deaths and the state of the water, although the exact relationship has yet to be determined.”

There is disagreement, however, about the precise cause. Some blame an insecticide sprayed on the Yarkon River the day before the accident; others point to untreated sewage, petroleum or other problems.

A foot bridge over the Yarkon collapsed July 14 while the Australian delegation was crossing it, heading toward the Ramat Gan Stadium in suburban Tel Aviv for the opening ceremony of the 15th World Maccabiah Games.

Two team members died immediately and dozens were injured. A third Australian, Elizabeth Sawicki, 47, died of lung and kidney complications that hospital officials attributed to pesticides in the water.