First Israeli to scale Mount Everest rescued by chopper from forest fire in Canada

Mountain climber Doron Erel, the first Israeli to scale Mount Everest, was rescued in a helicopter several days ago after becoming trapped in a forest fire in Canada, according to the Ynet news site.

The 63-year-old, who reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain in 1992, now lives in Canada.

הישראלי הראשון שטיפס על האוורסט חולץ משריפת יער בקנדה – https://t.co/JzOGkylEWr pic.twitter.com/M6tX6XvcP8

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He was hiking with his son at a mountain ridge in British Columbia and they set up a camp at 1,800 meters above sea level after climbing for seven hours through a forest.

The following morning, there was smoke rising from the forest that quickly got denser, and the experienced Erel realized the danger early.

“The area was completely covered in smoke and returning was impossible. We had to find an alternative plan. A possible route along the forest road would have taken at least 10 days, a journey we weren’t prepared for. The decision to ask for immediate help was clear,” he told Ynet.

Within 1.5 hours, a chopper belonging to the Rescue One company, working with Israel’s Harel insurance company, arrived and took them to safety.