After major search, body of drowned 18-year-old found off Hadera coast

Or Alefa was apparently knocked off breakwater where he was sitting with two friends; friend says he cried out, ‘but we couldn’t help him’

By ToI Staff 6 July 2021, 1:11 pm

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Or Alefa, a teenager who drowned in the Mideterranean Sea off the coast of Hadera in July 2021. (Courtesy)

After some 24 hours of widescale searches, the body of a teenager was found off the coast of Hadera on Monday evening, some 200 meters from where he disappeared after being swept off a breakwater by a large wave.

Medics told Hebrew media that they were called in to examine 18-year-old Or Alefa after he was found, but he had no vital signs and they pronounced him dead.

Alefa was sitting on the breakwater with two friends, also aged 17-18, at the Olga fishing beach near the power station in the city on Sunday evening, when they were knocked off it, according to Hebrew media reports.

His companions were able to haul themselves from the water, but the third teen disappeared into the sea.

“He was washed away, yelled ‘help,’ but we couldn’t help him,” a friend told Channel 12 news. “There was nobody here we could ask for help from.”

A woman identified only as Rakefet said she was walking on the beach when she saw the teenagers desperately trying to get her attention.

Police during a search and rescue operation for a teenager washed out to sea off the coast of Hadera, seen on July 5, 2021. (Israel Police)

“One was using his hands to give a distress signal,” she told Channel 12. “At that stage, I didn’t know that a few seconds earlier there had been another youth with them who fell into the sea. I alerted rescue service because the waves were a meter and half and I feared they would reach [the teenagers].”

She said when she reached the teenagers she smelled alcohol.

“They were shaking, wandering about, and crying,” Rakefet said.

She said the teenagers made efforts to help their friend, including throwing a safety ring into the water. She said the response from emergency services was rapid, with rescuers arriving within minutes.

A police helicopter, water vessels, and an Israeli Navy ship along with many volunteers participated in the operation. Divers from the Fire and Rescue Services, along with volunteer divers, searched beneath the waves.

Police said that the force, together with welfare services, is providing support for the teen’s family, which is from the Pe’er neighborhood of Hadera.

Stuart Winer contributed to this report.