A member of a group of three people who went missing after their car was swept away by flash floods in southern Israel on Monday has been traced and rescued the next morning.
Stormy weather and high winds lashed Israel on Monday afternoon, just as many flocked to nature destinations to enjoy the week-long Passover holiday.
The MDA ambulance service said the rescued woman, a 21-year-old resident of the northern city of Tiberias, was in good condition, although she was suffering from mild hypothermia.
He was spotted by an Israeli Air Force helicopter sent to locate the group.
The search is on for the remaining two men – a brother and sister, both from Tiberias.
Narrating her ordeal to the paramedics, the woman said that the car was swept off the road by the strong current. As the car began to fill with water, the group abandoned the vehicle. She said she was carried by the current for several kilometers as she tried to keep her head above water before finally taking shelter on rocks along the stream.
The woman’s sister told Channel 12 she was “praying for a miracle” for the two missing persons.
All three contacted the officials and informed that they were trapped in the flash flood. Police said contact with the three was lost on Monday evening.
Rescue services search for missing people after floods in the Negev desert on April 11, 2023. (Police)
Meanwhile, officials on Tuesday morning reopened Highway 90, the main highway connecting the southern city of Elliott to the rest of the country, although other local roads remained closed due to fears of flooding.
Police had earlier warned of possible flooding in the Judean Desert, and closed sections of two highways running through southern Israel.
Earlier on Monday, three women trapped in floods near Eilat were rescued and taken to Yoseftal Hospital in the city for treatment for frostbite, police said.
Israeli Air Force helicopters and troops from the IDF’s Unit 669, a combat rescue and evacuation force, rescued several civilians Monday night in southern Israel in cooperation with Israeli police, Magen David Adom medics, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, the army said. . and regional rescue units.
As of Tuesday morning, police said 60 people had been rescued from flooding in the area, amid more than 100 calls to authorities overnight for help.
Officials urged “citizens to show responsibility and not go near flood areas”.
Rescue services search for missing people after floods in the Negev desert on April 11, 2023. (Police)
Earlier on Monday, a teenage girl was slightly injured when a tree fell on the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel amid heavy winds. An 18-year-old man was hit in the head by a falling tree near Kibbutz Ein Gev.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said paramedics took the injured teen by helicopter to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center for treatment.
In a separate incident at Kibbutz Beit Kama, north of Beersheba, a large tree fell on a preschool, crushing equipment in the yard. None of the children were hurt as the teachers took the children inside when the strong wind picked up.
Video from the scene showed the tree crushed into an outdoor area at the preschool.
A big miracle happened here: a big tree fell on a kindergarten in Beit Cama, no one was hurt
Photo: As per law 27A https://t.co/X4miwXZjlX pic.twitter.com/6XrKTVmo1B– Radio Darom – Radio Darom (@Radiodarom97) April 10, 2023
“How horrifying,” one kibbutz resident told Channel 12. “What luck that a minute or two ago, they brought [the children] In.”
The stormy weather was set to continue into Wednesday, with some thunderstorms expected and possible flooding in coastal cities. Some snow was expected in the Mount Hermon area to the north on Wednesday.
