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NEWS
Beterem Says Local Authorities Must Optimize Child Safety
By Yechiel Sever
Following the tragic death of three-year-old Rachel Sofer, who fell into an open manhole that had poisonous gas in it from decaying organic matter in Jerusalem's Ramat Eshkol neighborhood near a playground, Beterem is calling on local authorities to maximize child safety regulations.
The child safety organization says the local authority is responsible for the infrastructures, sites and public areas within its jurisdiction and their regular maintenance, and is obligated to address safety hazards immediately. Preparations for summer are of especially vital importance since children are constantly outside in playgrounds, parks and other sites.
According to figures compiled by Beterem, every year 150 children are killed and 24,000 children are hospitalized for accidental injuries. Accidents take place in the home, yards, schools, playgrounds, open spaces and on the roads. According to data gathered by the National Center for Trauma and Emergency Care Research at the Gartner Institute, at the hospitals surveyed 269 children under the age of 18 were hospitalized in 2006 due to injuries suffered in playgrounds and public parks.
Most of the injuries that occur in playgrounds are caused by falls. Other children suffer head or neck injuries when they get stuck between the bars of playground equipment. Other risks are related to collisions in movable equipment and contact with various risk factors such as protrusions, sharp curbs and lips, warm surfaces and scrap metal or equipment refuse.
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