Shepherd drowns in flash flood as north buffeted by rain, wind

27-year-old swept away by deluge in swollen stream near Karmiel; rescuers continue search for teen caught in flooding while riding ATV

A 27-year-old man drowned Thursday in a flash flood near the northern town of Karmiel as severe weather batters the country, swelling streams, flooding streets and knocking down trees.

Meanwhile in nearby Yarka, rescuers were continuing to search for a teenage boy who went missing when his ATV was swept away by a flood.

The victim was identified as Majd Qassem Su’ad, a shepherd from the village of Wadi Salameh.

Paramedics treated Su’ad after he was caught in a deluge in a swollen stream, but their efforts were unsuccessful and he was declared dead at Ziv Medical Center in Safed.

Su’ad had gone out to close a gate near the stream when he went missing, the Ynet news site reported.

His family called the police, who launched a search for him in vehicles, on foot, and with the aid of a search helicopter.

מג'ד קאסם, רועה צאן בן 27, הוא הצעיר שנסחף בנחל ונהרגhttps://t.co/kdDGvTcT3m pic.twitter.com/lUsVGMrD1P

— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) December 26, 2019

Earlier Thursday, the 14-year-old boy went missing after being swept away by a flash flood that poured through a dry riverbed in the north, as he and a relative rode an all-terrain vehicle through the area.

The other rider was rescued and the lost boy’s ATV was recovered, overturned, from the water.

Large numbers of police and emergency services, including divers, formed search parties to look for the boy around the village of Yarka, where he went missing.

“I know he went out with a relative,” his father told Channel 12 news. “If I had known that he was going to ride on the ATV I would have never let him out. We’re broken, we don’t have any strength left. I don’t understand how this happened to us. I’m hoping for the best, that they’ll find him.”

Rescuers reported there had been a strong water flow through the riverbed where the boy disappeared.

The two had gone out earlier in the day to ride the ATV off-road. An initial investigation indicated they had tried to ford the Ein Yifam riverbed, which runs between Yarka and Jatt, Channel 12 news reported.

An overturned quad bike pulled from a river bed after a flash flood swept away its two riders, leaving a boy, 14, missing, December 26, 2019 (Israel Fire and Rescue Services)

The incidents came amid a cold and wet snap that began Wednesday and saw strong winds and rain drive across most of the country, and in particular in the north.

מפל סער הבוקר.
צילום: רפי ברמן, רשות הטבע והגנים pic.twitter.com/G2alpkZ4kY

— רשות הטבע והגנים (@rashut_hateva) December 26, 2019

In Ashdod a ship that was trying to dock in the port was swept onto an adjacent beach. Port authorities were working to refloat the ship. Environmental Protection Ministry inspectors found no indication of fuel leaks into the water.