Toddler Dies in Apartment Fire in Beersheva, 4-Year-Old Sibling in Hospital

Pictured Above: Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

(JNS) Hundreds of people attended a funeral at 1 a.m. for 2-year-old Shterna Sarah Shepadov, who was killed on Sunday when a fire broke out in her family’s Beersheva apartment.

Firefighters concluded that one of the family’s young children had been playing with matches.

Their mother was able to evacuate several of the children, but could not reach Shterna Sarah or her 4-year-old brother, who was found hiding under his bed in the burning apartment by firefighters. Their father was at work at the time of the accident. A 10-year-old girl suffered moderate injuries and contusions after she jumped from the apartment’s balcony to escape the fire.

The Shepadov family, part of the local Chabad community, has requested urgent prayer for 4-year-old Schneur Zalman ben Zuslin Shulamis, who is in serious condition at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tel Aviv.