Israeli tourist drowns off coast of Koh Phangan after jumping into sea to rescue son

Searchers on Thursday found the body of an Israeli tourist who drowned off the coast of Koh Phangan while on vacation on the Thai island with his wife and four children, the Foreign Ministry said.

Sagi Mor, 45, drowned on Wednesday after entering the sea to rescue his son, who had been caught up in a strong current while swimming, Hebrew-language media reported.

He managed to pull his son out of the water and hand him off to another tourist who had seen what was happening and dove in to help, Channel 12 news said, but was carried further out by a wave.

According to Kan, he shouted to his wife, Inbal, who was on the coast, that he would swim toward nearby rocks and pull himself out from there, but before he could reach them, he was pulled under by another wave and didn’t resurface.

Inbal contacted the Israeli embassy, and an impromptu search party was immediately organized by Israelis living in Koh Phangan, alongside a search operation organized by local police.

According to Channel 12 news, approximately 160 Israelis, both tourists and those living in Thailand, joined the effort.

The search was briefly suspended overnight due to the harsh weather, but resumed earlier Thursday with hundreds of volunteers combing the area until Mor’s body was located and identified.

Participants in the search said that the seas were unusually rough and stormy.

The Foreign Ministry said it was assisting the family with bringing Mor’s body back to Israel for burial.

“In these difficult hours, I would like to thank from all our hearts the good people who came to rescue Sagi,” his wife, Inbal, said in a statement carried by Hebrew media outlets.

“We are now gathering as a family to deal with the difficult news and support the members of the household,” she said.