Elderly man drowns in Jordan River; woman rescued after falling into Banias Stream

Three others hurt on Haifa, Ashkelon and Tel Aviv beaches, latest in series of water-related accidents; on Friday, a 15-year-old died in hospital after drowning in the Jordan River

Illustrative: A military helicopter holding a 669 Search & Rescue crewman and a stranded hiker over a flooded riverbed in southern Israel, November 9, 2018. (Courtesy: IDF)
Illustrative: A military helicopter holding a 669 Search & Rescue crewman and a stranded hiker over a flooded riverbed in southern Israel, November 9, 2018. (Courtesy: IDF)

A 71-year-old man drowned on Saturday after entering the Jordan River in the area of Kibbutz Kfar HaNassi in northern Israel.

The victim was part of a group visiting the area. He tried to enter the water and was immediately carried away by the stream and lost consciousness, first responders said.

Due to the rocky terrain, a 669 Search & Rescue team was dispatched to the area by helicopter. They pulled the man out and attempted resuscitation, but were forced to pronounce his death at the scene.

His body was evacuated to the Ziv Medical Center in the northern Galilee.

There were several other water-related incidents on Saturday, the Magen David Adom ambulance service reported.

A 70-year-old woman who was hiking in the Banias spring in the Golan Heights was rescued after slipping and falling into the water. She was moderately injured in the incident and was evacuated to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

Illustrative: Visitors at the Banias Nature Reserve in northern Israel on April 3, 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

A 30-year-old man was pulled out of the sea near Ashkelon’s Dlila Beach after a near-drowning. He was taken to the city’s Barzilai hospital in serious condition.

A 40-year-old woman lost consciousness due to an apparent medical condition while she was in the sea near Tel Aviv’s Gordon Beach. According to MDA, she almost drowned following the event, and was taken to a nearby hospital in moderate condition.

And a 50-year-old man was pulled out of the sea near Haifa’s Dado Beach after a near-drowning. He was taken to the city’s Rambam hospital in critical condition.

On Friday, 15-year-old Az a-Din Awad from the town of Tamra in northern Israel was pronounced dead after drowning in the Jordan River a day earlier.

Awad was found unconscious and was evacuated to a nearby hospital without a pulse. Medical teams were unable to save him.

Last month, a 3-year-old boy from northern Israel died after drowning in a private pool and an 18-year-old died from injuries he sustained days earlier while trying to save his dog from drowning at Agam Hanakik, or Gorge Lake, an artificial body of water in Rishon Lezion.

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