Jerusalem, 5 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Fire and Rescue Service received a report Saturday that a man was trapped inside an underground trash container in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood.
Firefighters from the Capital District station and a special rescue team arrived and used gas detectors to find dangerously low oxygen levels inside the container.
Police said the man was dealing with a mental health issue. Because of the danger to his life, firefighters persuaded him to wear a rescue hood that supplied fresh air.
Rescuers also pumped air into the container to reduce the dangerous gas levels. A Jerusalem Municipality crane was brought to lift the container, which weighed about one ton, including its contents.
Firefighters then rescued the man alive. Magen David Adom paramedics treated him at the scene before evacuating him in moderate condition to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.