Dozens of children go missing on desert hike, found with drones

Over 40 students in 5th to 8th grade separated from main group during school trip to Nahal Og in Dead Sea area

A operator's screen showing a group of school students who were found using a drone after they went missing during a school hike in Nahal Og, March 28, 2022. (Israel Police)
A operator's screen showing a group of school students who were found using a drone after they went missing during a school hike in Nahal Og, March 28, 2022. (Israel Police)

Dozens of school students went missing in the area of the Dead Sea on Monday, prompting a search-and-rescue mission that found them using drones.

The group of 42 students from grades 5-8 was part of a larger group on a school hike through the Nahal Og canyon river when they become separated from the main body of participants.

When the person leading the trip realized they were missing, he alerted the police, who said its Megilot Dead Sea Rescue Unit had launched a search operation.

Rescuers used drones to search for the children, and, after about an hour, spotted some of them. The rest were found soon after that.

The search was made more complicated because the children who went astray did not stay together.

Matan Murad, commander of the rescue unit, told media that some of the children had turned east along the streambed, and others west.

He said a large number of teams and drones were involved in the search.

In total, 39 children were found using the drones while a police helicopter spotted the remaining three, Channel 12 news reported.

Rescuers on foot were directed to where the various children were located to bring them back to safety.

Numerous hikers have required rescue from Nahal Og over the years. The riverbed, which winds through steep, rocky canyon walls, is prone to flash floods. Though the end of last week saw stormy weather drench much of Israel, the forecast for this week has been dry and significantly warmer.

In 2018, 10 high school students were killed when they were swept away by floods caused by torrential rain during a hike in Nahal Tzafit, a riverbed in the southern Dead Sea area.

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