A man drowned and died in flooding caused by torrential rains in the northern city of Nahariya on Wednesday while he was trying to help a mother and child.
The man, said to be 38 years old, was swept away in his car by the floods and was found later on near the beach. Medical teams attempted to resuscitate him, but were forced to pronounce him dead.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Radi Hadad who was among the first responders at the scene said that when he arrived at the scene he found a man who had gone missing shortly before, and together with other EMS personnel performed CPR on the man in an attempt to resuscitate him.
“Unfortunately, at the end of our efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Our teams are at full readiness and will continue to respond to any and all medical emergencies throughout the area,” he stated.
His car was found heavily damaged in town.
However, the mother and son were saved.
Nahariya, which is bisected by the Gaaton River, experienced mass flooding annually. However, the river experienced a 50 year peek in its flowing on Wednesday due to the irregularly heavy rains.
This is the fifth person to die of drowning caused by the deluge that Israel has been experiencing in the past week.
Ali Agrabia was found dead early Monday morning in his car, which was swept away by a flood near Route 6 in the north. He was recovered after emergency teams searched for him overnight.
On Sunday night, Eran Herenshtat, 72, died in similar circumstances.
Stav Harari and Dean Shoshani, a 25-year-old couple, drowned on Saturday when torrential rains in Tel Aviv flooded the elevator they were in.
Several other people were rescued by emergency services at various locations that experienced mass flooding.
Several roads and areas inside coastal cities were shut down in wake of the heavy rains that turned streets into streams.
Homes were flooded and heavy damage was caused to property.
The country, in general, has been experiencing a wintry week with heavy rains throughout the country and heavy snow on Mount Herman and the northern Golan Heights.