In 2021, there was an increase in the number of deaths of children who were forgotten or trapped in vehicles, as well as an increase in deaths due to suffocation. This is according to the year-end report of the Betrem organization for child safety.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
However, the data indicates a decrease in mortality compared to 2017-2019.
And these are the data:
Last year, 117 children and teenagers were killed in various accidents. The most prominent causes of death were traffic accidents (50 cases), suffocation (20 cases), drowning (19 cases), fire (eight cases), and forgetting or trapping children in vehicles (six cases).
In 2021, the child mortality rate in accidents was 3.9 cases per 100,000 children.
The organization emphasizes that 2020 was an exception in the limited scope of the injury, apparently as a result of the Corona crisis and the periods of quarantine and social distancing. During 2021, restrictions were eased, and the mortality rate increased, but this is still a decrease of about 16% compared to the average mortality rate in 2017-2019.
The report also shows that there was a sharp increase in deaths due to suffocation - mainly following the Meron disaster that occurred on Lag BaOmer in Zion Rashbi, in which 11 children and teenagers were killed.
A total of 20 cases were recorded in 2021, compared to an average of nine cases in 2017-2020.
The doubling of deaths due to choking has made it the second most common cause of death after traffic accidents. In doing so, it overtakes drowning, which was the second leading cause of death in the past five years.
In 2021, six children lost their lives as a result of being forgotten or trapped in a vehicle, compared to an average of 2.75 in previous years.
According to the report, in Jewish society there was a decrease of approximately 21% in the mortality rate compared to 2017-2019. In the Arab population, the mortality rate remained similar compared to these years.
