A man was killed Sunday night after a fire erupted in an underground parking garage of a residential building in Rishon Lezion, with initial reports indicating that a Tesla may have crashed into a wall before catching fire.

Fire and rescue crews were dispatched to the building on Ahi Lahav Street and worked for an extended period to extinguish the blaze and search the smoke-filled garage.

Once firefighters brought the fire under control, they discovered a person inside one of the vehicles with no signs of life.

Magen David Adom paramedics and EMTs examined the victim but were forced to pronounce him dead at the scene.

“When we arrived at the scene, we saw a vehicle on fire. After prolonged operations by the firefighting forces, a person was located inside a vehicle, unconscious. We performed medical examinations, but unfortunately, there were no signs of life,” paramedics Benny Joseph and Shaked Ron Tal Cohen said.

According to Israel Fire and Rescue Services, preliminary findings indicate that the blaze began in an electric vehicle and subsequently spread to several other vehicles parked nearby.

A separate report from the scene indicated that the electric vehicle was a Tesla that apparently struck a wall for reasons that remain unclear and then burst into flames.

Authorities stressed that the circumstances surrounding the reported collision are still under investigation, and no official determination has yet been released regarding the cause of the fire.

Even after the flames were extinguished, firefighters remained at the scene and continued ventilation operations to clear the heavy smoke from the underground garage.

Volunteers from ZAKA’s Central District were also dispatched to the scene and assisted police in preserving the dignity of the deceased and collecting findings from the area.

A fire investigator from Israel Fire and Rescue Services, together with police investigators, is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident.

{Matzav.com}