Rescuers frantically seek man swept away in floodwaters near coastal town

Rescuers are frantically searching for a man believed trapped in a car that was carried away by a flash flood in northern Israel a short time ago.

A father and son were driving on a road near the coastal city of Zichron Yaakov, when floodwaters from the adjacent Taninim stream overwhelmed their car, flooded it and threatened to drag it away.

A passerby, reportedly a park ranger, saw the car and rushed into the floodwaters to pull out the boy. The boy was successfully rescued.

Before the man could return to the car for the trapped father, the car was swept away in the torrent down the Taninim.

A helicopter-borne Air Force rescue team is now in the air above the area helping in a nighttime search. Ground rescue teams from the Fire and Rescue Services are searching.