Jerusalem----Arkady Wieselman, a hotel chef in the coastal resort of Netanya, escaped the deadliest suicide bombing in Israel when he walked into the kitchen freezer just before an explosion rocked the hotel dining hall, killing 29 Israelis.

More than six weeks later, he was killed with two other Israelis when another suicide bomber walked into Netanya's outdoor market dressed as a soldier Sunday and exploded himself.

His death compounded the feeling of tragedy at the hotel as its staff struggled to recover from the March 27 attack.

"I thought it was impossible that something like this would happen again to the people at the Park Hotel," said Rina Hamamy, whose husband, Ami, was the manager of the hotel.

He died of injuries two days after a suicide bomber wearing 40 pounds of explosives walked into the packed dining hall and blew himself up as guests were sitting down to the traditional Passover seder meal.

Wieselman, who had worked at the hotel for more than 10 years, had prepared that meal that was never eaten. He was in a freezer in an upper-level kitchen when the explosion occurred.

When Hamamy arrived at the hotel five minutes later Wieselman was tending to the injured. "He helped save the people. He was so sad about what happened but so relieved he was alive," she said.

Following Ami Hamamy's death, Wieselman helped care for his family, cooking meals during the mourning period. and providing emotional support.

"Arkady was with me, and now everything begins again," Rina Hamamy said.

Hamamy said Wieselman, a Russian immigrant, was a gentle man and a devoted father and husband who feared for his family's safety amid the violence. "He was upset about all these terror attacks in Netanya. He has two children and he was afraid that it could happen at their school, anywhere," she said.

On Sunday, his day off, Wieselman was doing some shopping for his family in the market when the bomber exploded himself among the rows of fruit and vegetables.

"It is going to be hard for his family. We pray and hope that this will end," Hamamy said.

ISRAEL NEWS AGENCY