Rain Rescues and Recoveries

It was a busy week for United Hatzalah medic A. (with rescuee on the

cable) who serves in the IAF Rescue and Extrication Unit. While the rain brought much needed replenishment to Israel's reservoirs and aquifers it did wreak havoc on many areas. Israel's south is particularly prone to flash flooding and the resultant road washouts.

A. told me of the frustration of preventable rescues and recoveries.

All members of his elite unit are proud to serve but would much rather people stay out of harm's way whenever possible.

A. was asleep at his home in Eilat when the call came in that 2 trucks were trapped in the wash and were in danger of being swept away. A.

raced to the scene and joined the medical staff that was under his command. The trucks were swaying dangerously in water. The drivers had climbed onto the roofs on one of the trailers. In close contact with their air arm, the 669 the lucky truckdrivers were plucked from peril.

The 2 truckdrivers were taken to A.'s unit for care and were released.

The same luck didn't hold up for Yarom and Alex Hochman who ventured out to see the flooding with friend Noy Fugel. Floodwaters rushing over road surfaces can create very deceptive perspectives of depth.

One miscalculation and the vehicle can stall and then be at the mercy of the rising and racing waters. That it precisely what happened to this unlucky trio. Alex was rescued by the 669 unit attached to A's unit but the bodies of Yarom and Noy were only recovered later that day.