Three young men die after electrocuted in fish farm accident

Initial investigation finds evidence that one of the three was installing a new feeding device when he was electrocuted; other 2 men died trying to save him.

By BEN HARTMAN
Magen David Adom370 (photo credit: Magen David Adom, Courtesy)
Magen David Adom370
(photo credit: Magen David Adom, Courtesy)
Within moments on Thursday morning, three young men in their early 20s lost their lives when they were electrocuted in a fish pond at the Hula Nature Reserve in the Upper Galilee.
The victims were named as Nir Glassman, 23, from Kibbutz Afikim; Uriel Buchris, 21, from Kibbutz Merav; and Gideon Raz, 20, from Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael.
An initial investigation found evidence that one of the men had been installing a new feeding device when he was electrocuted. In an attempt to save him, the other two men dove in and were electrocuted as well.
Magen David Adom paramedics found all three unconscious and lacking a pulse. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Eli Bin, director-general of MDA, warned the public to act with caution around water and electrocution hazards.
“I remind the public that in the event that a person near you is electrocuted, he or she should not be touched until the source of the electricity is disconnected,” he said.
Buchris, one of seven siblings, had finished his army service only a few weeks earlier and taken a job at the fish farm shortly afterward. Glassman, also one of seven siblings, had recently finished his army service and had worked for the past six months at Ma’agan Michael.
Raz, an only child, had finished his year of national service at an agricultural school only a couple of weeks ago and was set to enlist in the IDF in November.
Adva Frum, a former youth counselor to Raz, told reporters on Thursday that he “was a wonderful boy, a great friend, sensitive, loved the Land of Israel. He was so special I can't believe this, I’m just stunned.”