The death toll from northern Israel's massive forest fire rose to 42 on Monday as Haifa's police chief, Ahuva Tomer, died in hospital of her burn injuries, public radio reported.
Tomer, 52, one of Israel's few female police chiefs, died in Rambam hospital in the Mediterranean city of Haifa where she worked, the radio reported, citing medical sources.
She suffered severe burns on Thursday, after being caught in the devastating blaze which raged through the Carmel forest south of Haifa for four days.
The blaze was finally brought under control on Sunday with the help of firefighting planes and personnel from more than 16 countries.
It was the worst fire in Israel's 62-year history, destroying millions of trees and killing a total of 42 people, most of them prison guards whose bus was trapped in the inferno shortly after the fire broke out.
All but one of the deaths, not including the police chief, came on the first day. Thirty-seven of those killed worked for the prison service, three were police and the others a fireman and a 16-year-old firefighting volunteer.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
