Third body from Sea of Galilee drownings found
Police identify remains of Itamar Ohana, missing since last week after strong winds blew bathers on floating rafts away from shore
The body of the third person who went missing in the Sea of Galilee was found Tuesday afternoon as funerals were held for the two other drowning victims.
Police said they found the submerged body of Itamar Ohana, 19, from the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, during the afternoon. He was later identified by members of his family.
The three men vanished while out on the water during very windy weather last week. Intensive searches located the first two victims on Monday.
Liron Karadi, 17, was buried in the city of Or Akiva and Nahman Itah, 21, was buried in Jerusalem. Both funerals were attended by hundreds.
Ohana’s brother, Hananel Ohana, told Channel 2 television that the family had resigned themselves to expect the worst.
“In the first 48 hours, we tried to hold on to the thought that perhaps he is still alive. But we started to understand that we need to be realistic and put things into proportion, because that is life, and we are at the stage of dealing with the pain.”
Police said the two bodies were found in the same area of the Sea of Galilee and that they were discovered by police boats using “advanced equipment.”
Hebrew media reports said the bodies were located with the help of sonar devices provided by the Israel Navy. The police said they were continuing to search for Ohana in the same area where the other two were found.
For nearly a week, police and rescue workers, along with volunteers, scoured the Sea of Galilee in a massive search for the three.
On Sunday, the navy sent a specialized search ship and an elite team of divers to assist in the search efforts.
According to reports, all three disappeared in separate incidents as high winds blew across the lake.
Itah and his girlfriend set out on a floating raft from the Lavnun Beach camping resort on the eastern shore of the lake last Wednesday morning. Strong easterly winds and currents pushed them out into deeper waters where the raft overturned. A Jet Ski rider was able to save the woman, but Itah was already out of sight.
Later in the morning, Karadi and another teenager, who also floated out on a blow-up raft, were swept out, after which the device was punctured. One of the teens was rescued, but Karadi went missing.
In the third incident, a number of teens set off from Lavnun on a floating mattress and were also taken westward, away from shore, by the wind. Two were able to swim back to shore but the third, Ohana, went missing.
Their disappearance came as more than 80 other people were rescued from the lake on Wednesday as heavy winds surprised holiday bathers.
The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s largest freshwater lake, covering around 166 square kilometers (64 square miles). Its shores are lined with vacation sites that host tens of thousands of Israelis during the week-long Passover festival, which began last Monday night.
