Jewish father lost seven of his eight children in house fire breaks, New York

 

 

Great tragedy! Father of the 7 children, Gabriel Sassoon looked devastated as he was driven away from the service at the Shomrei Hadas Chapel in Brooklyn on Sunday surrounded by thousands of mourners.

He was at a religious retreat early Saturday morning when a fire broke out at his home, New York - sparked by a hot plate that was left on to keep food warm during the Sabbath. Jews do not light fires or turn on appliances on their day of rest. Sassoon's wife Gayle and 14-year-old daughter Tzipora were the only two in his family to survive the blaze, after jumping from the second floor.

They are still fighting for their lives in two New York hospitals. His sons Yakob, 5, Moshe, 8, Yeshua, 10, and David, 12, and daughters Sarah, 6, Rivkah, 11, and Elian, 15, did not survive. The New York Fire Department have said it was the most devastating blaze seen by the city in seven years and confirmed a smoke detector was found in the basement.

A procession of hearses from their funeral on Sunday in Brooklyn led their coffins to New York's JFK airport where they were boarded onto a flight bound for Jerusalem where they will be buried on Monday.