The sunny and warm Saturday brought many to the beaches across Israel, but for some of them the fun in the water ended badly. Four people almost drowned and were evacuated to hospitals, all of them in serious or critical condition.
An 80-year-old man was evacuated to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon in critical condition, after he almost drowned at Delila Beach in Ashkelon.
“When we got to the beach we joined the lifeguards who pulled the man from the water and started CPR,” according to MDA medic Yaron Kapach. “We continued the medical treatment and carried out prolonged CPR including breathing, massages and medications. We put the man in the intensive care unit while continuing CPR and took him to the hospital while his condition was critical.”
Another incident happened at the Sadot Yam beach near Caesarea, where a 40-year-old man almost drowned and was transported to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera while in critical condition and being being sedated and ventilated.
Multiple drownings along the Israeli coast
“When we arrived at the beach we saw a man lying unconscious near the waterline at a non-declared beach,” said Tamar Yuval, an MDA medic. “Citizens who were at the beach told us that they saw him in the water and pulled him to the beach. We administered CPR including medications and ventilation, and transported him to the hospital in serious condition.”
Israel police patrol at the Tel Aviv harbor, July 1, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)A 16-year-old boy almost drowned at another undeclared beach, north of Zikim beach. He was taken to Barzilai Medical Center, while being ventilated and unconscious.
“I arrived in an ambulance at the northern part of the beach and then reached the boy with an ATV,” told paramedic Jackie Sardas. “He was lying on the sand in an undeclared part of the beach. Surfers who were there told that they saw him in distress in the water and rescued him to the beach. I gave him initial medical treatment with oxygen and transferred him to the MDA intensive care vehicle where the boy was ventilated, and evacuated to the hospital in serious condition.”
Meanwhile in Netanya, a 55-year-old man was pulled from the water unconscious, without a pulse or breathing. After CPR was performed on the spot, his heart began to beat again. He was taken to Laniado Hospital in Netanya in serious condition, being sedated and ventilated.
MDA paramedic Ihab Aliyan was present at the scene and said: “When we arrived at the beach, we joined the lifeguards who pulled a 55-year-old man unconscious from the sea, without a pulse and without breathing, and they started CPR. We continued the medical treatment which included breathing, massages and giving medication and when his heart started beating again we put him in an intensive care unit and evacuated him to the hospital while his condition was serious.”
Additionally, a 23-year-old man was injured moderately while swimming in the sea at Palmachim beach and was evacuated to Shamir Medical Center in Tzrifin with a head injury. He apparently hit his head on a rock while swimming.
According to data from the Children’s Safety Organization, since the beginning of 2023 seven children have drowned.
The data also shows that in the last five years 107 children and teenagers drowned and died, 11% of them drowned in the sea.
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