With at least 45 killed in Meron Lag B'Omer tragedy, Israel follows Saudi Arabia, India and Iraq as host of mass fatality crush at religious gathering

Shachar Ba'al Haness, 19, describes how he was crushed beneath a pile of bodies, and struggled to breathe for five minutes until police rescuers pulled him out

Messages of solidarity and support pour in from US, Germany, EU, India and beyond

Fatal crushing occurred as large numbers of ultra-Orthodox participants moved through narrow passageway, on an incline, on the exit route from the pilgrimage site

As investigators start work at scene, police spokesman says 'too early and wrong' to label those to blame; health minister: 'Not the time to debate who is responsible'

Traffic jams, frustration as throngs of men, women and children try to get home before Sabbath; lack of organization leaves hundreds of buses stuck on single-lane route

Some families of deceased arrive at morgue to identify bodies as others search for wounded at hospitals; many burials expected to take place before sundown

Residents of nearby villages set up stations for thousands making their way home; large lines at mobile units in Tel Aviv as residents wait for hours to donate

The pilgrimage site was never properly equipped to cope with the vast annual crowds. The particular walkway was a known bottleneck. So why was a tragedy foretold allowed to happen?

Shimon Lavi says ready for investigation 'for better or worse'; narrow pathway at site was known to be a danger, but other police officials say incident was unavoidable