5-year-old boy dies of injuries sustained in drowning incident in northern Israel
Adim Jabrin, hospitalized after being rescued from stream on Tuesday, succumbs to wounds, bringing toll from deadly day of water accidents to four
A 5-year-old boy who had been hospitalized in critical condition for two days after nearly drowning earlier this week died of his injuries Thursday morning.
Adim Jabrin, from Umm al-Fahm, was declared dead by doctors at the hospital where he was being treated.
His death brings to four the toll from a series of drowning incidents within hours of each other on Tuesday.
Jabrin was injured at the Nahal Kibbutzim stream near Beit She’an in the north. He was rushed to HaEmek Medical Center in critical condition.
“To our regret, the damage was critical and this morning he died,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday.
The tragedy came after a man, 55, and his daughter, 18, pulled from the water on Tuesday night were both declared dead early Wednesday, after doctors tried for several hours to save them.
The pair, from the Bedouin city of Hura, had been swimming at an unauthorized beach at Palmachim, in the central region of the country, according to the Magen David Rescue service.
Medics said they arrived at around 10 p.m. to find the pair lying on the sand not breathing and without a pulse. EMTs managed to revive a heartbeat in the girl, but not in her father, and both were rushed to Shamir-Assaf Harofeh hospital in Rishon Lezion, but doctors were unable to save them.
It was not immediately clear if the pair had been swimming in the dark under the full moon.
Earlier the same day, a 60-year-old man drowned at Sironit Beach in Netanya. The man, reportedly a French tourist, was pulled from the water in critical condition and paramedics declared him dead after being unable to resuscitate him.
The deaths came amid a chaotic day on Israel’s beaches and waterways, as medics rushed to a seemingly endless string of near-drownings that left five others in critical or serious condition, including several children.
The incidents came as Muslims across Israel celebrated Eid-al-Adha, a major holiday that is often marked with trips to the beach or other outings.
Before Tuesday, 16 people had drowned on Israel’s beaches since the start of the beach season on April 16, MDA said.
