FED: Bridge collapse victim out of hospital for now

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-1998
FED: Bridge collapse victim out of hospital for now

By Stephen Spencer

CANBERRA, Dec 23 AAP - Maccabiah bridge disaster victim Sasha Elterman is again out of
hospital, but her condition remains uncertain and further operations are likely.

Seventeen-year-old Sasha was critically injured when a bridge collapsed as Australian
athletes entered the stadium in Tel Aviv for the so-called Jewish Olympics in July last year,
killing four of her team mates and injuring up to 70 others.

Since then she has come close to death many times after being poisoned by toxic water she
inhaled when trapped under water following the collapse.

Sasha appeared to have finally won her fight for life when she was released from hospital
earlier this year and returned to school.

But a minor operation to remove a cyst that was pressing on her spinal cord turned into a
nightmare that lasted 14 weeks after the operation caused a loss of movement and gave her
almost constant nausea.

"We thought she was in for seven days, and it turned out to be 14 weeks," Sasha's father
Colin Elterman told AAP.

"She had a cyst on her neck which had to be drained. When they operated on the neck,
something went wrong."

Mr Elterman said Sasha still had headaches and double vision and may still have to return
to hospital for another operation, bringing to well over 30 the number of operations she has
now undergone.

But Mr Elterman said his daughter was just one of many victims still suffering as a result
of the Maccabiah disaster.

"One lady called me this morning. She's had five or six operations and is still battling,
still in a lot of pain," he said.

"Not to mention Suzanne Small (widow of bridge victim Greg) who has lost her house."

Mr Elterman has been one of the leaders of the worldwide fight by Australia's Jewish
community against the organisers of the Maccabiah Games, the Maccabi World Union.

Their campaign has resulted in an inquiry by the Israeli Parliament which will tonight
(Australian time) hear from Sydney barrister Robert Kaye.

Mr Kaye will demand the resignation of senior Maccabi officials on the grounds they should
bear moral responsibility for the accident until criminal and civil investigations are
completed.

However, the inquiry is now under threat from looming Israeli election, which will be held
early, in April.

Mr Elterman said it was now uncertain whether the inquiry would proceed, or whether it
would be put on hold until after the election.

AAP ss/it

KEYWORD: ISRAEL COLLAPSE SASHA

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