Charedi Toddler Dies After Drowning in Sponga Bucket in Yerushalayim

A shocking incident occurred Thursday afternoon in Yerushalayim, when a one-and-a-half-year-old Charedi girl lost consciousness after drowning in a “sponga” bucket of water at her home on Spitzer Street in the Mea Shearim neighborhood.

Rescue teams arriving at the scene immediately began administering CPR on the toddler, including chest compressions and assisted breathing, before transporting her in critical condition to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, while continuing life-saving measures.

Tragically, hospital doctors were ultimately forced to declare the child dead.

The Jerusalem police have launched a full investigation into the incident. A statement from the police read: “A short time ago, the police received a report about CPR efforts on a one-year-old toddler in her home in downtown Jerusalem. Officers from the Lev HaBira police station who were called to the scene, began to clarify the circumstances of the incident and an investigation was opened. According to the initial suspicion, this is a tragic case of drowning in a ‘sponga’ bucket, and the police are now examining the course of the incident as part of the investigation.”

United Hatzalah paramedics Yosef Chaim Gabay, Eliyahu Lapidot, and Yaakov Bulg told B’chadrei Charedim: “When we arrived at the scene, we noticed the girl unconscious and not breathing after, according to the family, she was found in a bucket of water. We performed prolonged CPR on her and she was evacuated in an intensive care unit accompanied by United Hatzalah physician Dr. Daniel Shakregi to the hospital while CPR continued, with her condition being classified as critical.”

In a separate incident on the same afternoon, a 7-year-old child was struck by a motorcycle on Levi Eshkol Boulevard at the corner of Eretz Chefetz. He sustained injuries to his head and limbs.

Rescue teams provided immediate medical treatment at the scene and evacuated the boy to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in moderate condition. MDA reported: “At 4:16 PM, a report was received at the MDA call center in the Jerusalem area about a child, a pedestrian, who was hit by a motorcycle on Levi Eshkol Boulevard in Jerusalem. MDA medics and paramedics are providing medical treatment and referring an 8-year-old boy to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in moderate condition with injuries to the head and limbs.”