Elderly tourist plunges to her death in desert

French woman, 84, tumbles into gorge near to St. George Monastery on the outskirts of Jerusalem

By Stuart Winer
  • Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
 29 March 2015, 8:21 am
MDA emergency response teams at the scene where an elderly woman plunged to her death in Wadi Qelt, near Jerusalem, March 28, 2015. (photo credit: MDA)

An elderly tourist from France fell to her death on Saturday near the cliff-hugging St. George monastery in the Judean Desert, east of Jerusalem.

The woman, 84, tumbled 30 meters into Wadi Qelt close to where the monastery, a popular attraction, is built against an overhanging cliff, the Walla news site reported.

Magen David Adom emergency responders rushed to the scene and alerted the IDF, which scrambled a rescue helicopter.

Paramedics said that due to the rugged terrain, it took them half an hour to climb down to where the woman lay unconscious, without a pulse, and with serious injuries.

An IDF helicopter called out to assist in the recovery of a woman who fell to her death in Wadi Qelt, near Jerusalem, March 28. (photo credit: MDA)

MDA medics tried to resuscitate her but were forced to pronounce her dead at the scene.

The helicopter assisted in retrieving her body from the gorge.

Wadi Qelt and the Monastery of St. George (photo credit: Abir Sultan/Flash90)

The accident came a week after a man fell to his death while hiking in a mountainous area near Eilat in the south of the country.

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