Eilat beach tragedy: Young diver drowns during underwater work

A man in his twenties drowned this morning (Wednesday) in Eilat, in a tragic diving accident that occurred during his work. Medical teams that were summoned to the scene performed resuscitation efforts on him, but ultimately had to pronounce his death at the site.

In the early morning hours, Magen David Adom (MDA) received a report about a man who was pulled from the water near the underwater observatory in critical condition. Paramedics and medics who arrived quickly at the scene began advanced resuscitation efforts, which included chest compressions, ventilation, and medication administration. Despite their efforts, they were forced to declare the young man dead.

MDA paramedic Yochai Drai described the efforts to save the diver's life: "We arrived at a man who was lying on the beach completely unconscious, with no pulse and no breathing. We were told he was pulled from the water in this state. We immediately started intensive treatment, but unfortunately, in the end, we had to declare him dead."

Senior medic at United Hatzalah, Ze'ev Tefer, who was also called to the scene, added: "The dispatch team recognized that I was in the vicinity and called me. Together with additional medics and an intensive care team, we performed prolonged resuscitation in a desperate attempt to save him, but in the end we had to pronounce the man dead, who was about 27 years old."

ZAKA volunteers from Eilat also arrived at the scene to treat the deceased with respect and to gather evidence. ZAKA Eilat commander, Rabbi Shimon Eisenbach, stated: "We were called to the underwater observatory following a report of an unconscious diver. MDA teams had already performed prolonged resuscitation on him, but unfortunately had to confirm his death. We handled the scene with dignity and assisted in collecting evidence. This is a very tragic case."