When fun turns into tragedy
June 3, 2001

Doctors in Tel Aviv hospitals continue to fight to save the lives of three critically injured young victims of Friday night's suicide bombing attack. Nearly 50 people are still hospitalized as a result of the blast, which killed 19 and wounded more than one hundred.

Hard hit by the tragedy was Tel Aviv's Shevah high school. The school, which has a high percentage of Russian immigrant children among its students, counted many of the victims and the injured from its ranks. Specially trained psychologists will be at the school today and help the other students deal with the loss of their classmates.

Many of the victims were frequent visitors to Tel Aviv discotheques, where they enjoyed dancing and meeting other young people. Education Minister Limor Livnat, who admitted verifying the location of her own teenage son when she heard of the bombing, expressed her "deep shock at this despicable attack against innocent teens, most of them young girls, who lost their lives when they went out to have a good time with their friends."

The victims of the tragedy included:

* Yelena, 18, and Yulia Nelimov, 16, two sisters from Tel Aviv

* Ilia Gutman, 19, Bat Yam

* Roman Dezanshvili, 21, Bat Yam

* Caterina Kastaniada, 15, Ramat Gan

* Marina Zhirkovskaya, 17, Tel Aviv

* Irena Usdachi, 18, Holon

* Irena Nafmaniashtsy, 16, Bat Yam

* Anya Kachkova, 16, Holon

* Mariana Madbaneko, 16, Tel Aviv

* Simona Rodin, 17, Holon

* Ori Shahar, 32, Ramat Gan

* Aleksei Lupalu, 16, Bnei Brak

* Raisa Nomrovsky, 15, Netanya

* Maria Tagilchev, 14, Netanya

* Liana Skian, 16, Tel Aviv