' fill='%230E4F97'%3E%3Cg id='Group-5' transform='translate(370.000000, 11.000000)'%3E%3Cg id='avatar' transform='translate(6.000000, 4.000000)'%3E%3Ccircle id='Oval' cx='8' cy='4' r='4'%3E%3C/circle%3E%3Cpath d='M7.12864205,10 L8.87135795,10 C11.558649,10 14.0087196,11.5384024 15.1762205,13.958831 L16,15.6666667 L16,15.6666667 L15.3374858,17.5134983 C15.228016,17.8186575 14.9774027,18.051811 14.6651459,18.1389975 L8,20 L8,20 L1.33485405,18.1389975 C1.02259733,18.051811 0.771984007,17.8186575 0.662514216,17.5134983 L0,15.6666667 L0,15.6666667 L0.823779545,13.958831 C1.99128041,11.5384024 4.44135104,10 7.12864205,10 Z' id='Rectangle'%3E%3C/path%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Israeli family rescued after going missing on West Bank hiking trail
Police helicopter, volunteers help locate father and three children in Dragot ravine, escort them out safely
Illustrative: Hikers rappel down the ravine into the Dragot river bed. (screen capture: YouTube)
A large scale search was launched Tuesday evening for an Israeli family who went missing while hiking the Dragot trail in the Judean Desert. The family was eventually found and evacuated to safety.
A police helicopter joined two dozen volunteers searching the riverbed for the father and his three children who had not been heard from since Tuesday morning.
The Dragot ravine lies several kilometers east of Bethlehem in the West Bank, and is considered to be among the country’s harder hikes.
Rescue force managed to find the family, warmed them up with blankets and administered preliminary medical treatment. They were then escorted on foot out of the ravine.
read more: