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Israel convicts five for Maccabiah bridge deaths

TEL AVIV: A Tel Aviv court on Monday found five Israelis guilty of causing the death of four Australian athletes after a bridge collapsed during the Maccabiah "Jewish Olympics" in 1997. Israel Radio said the court ruled the defendants, including the bridge's engineer, building contractors and the organiser of the Maccabiah games were guilty of causing the death and injury of athletes through negligence.

They could face up to four years in prison, a prosecutor told Reuters.

Four athletes died after the bridge collapsed as the Australian team walked over the bridge leading into a stadium during the opening ceremony of the games.

Two died at the scene and the other two died later from infections caused by ingesting the polluted water of the Yarkon River in which they fell.

Dozens of athletes were injured from the fall and have since suffered illnesses caused by toxins in the water.

The three-judge panel, which heard the testimonies of more than 80 witnesses, spent six months deliberating the verdict following a trial which lasted more than two years. Many of the athletes have filed civil suits against the organiser the games,the Maccabi World Union, and the builders of the bridge, demanding damages for the injuries, mental anguish and loss of income which they sustained from the accident.-Reuters