Three drown, two in serious condition in accidents on Saturday; two others die off coast on Friday.
By JPOST.COM STAFFHerzliya beach 298.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Five people drowned off the nation's beaches on Friday and Saturday, and several others had to be rescued.
In Netanya, a 12-year-old boy died Saturday after swimming outside the designated area, 150 meters away from a lifeguard's station.
He was seen by beach-goers to be in distress, and eventually pulled out of the water unconscious. Magen David Adom paramedics tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the boy.
Shortly thereafter, another swimmer in the same area was pulled from the water after witnesses saw him calling in distress. That swimmer did not need medical attention.
Farther north, a youth was sucked under water off the coast of Atlit.
Park police, Israel Navy, and the Haifa police were called in to search for the victim, and after a few hours, found his body.
Late Saturday a 45-year-old man drowned off a Tel Aviv beach not manned by a lifeguard.
A 20-year-old was in serious condition and another youth was lightly injured after separate incidents off a beach in the Sharon. They were treated by paramedics on the scene before being evacuated to Hillel Jaffe Medical Center in Hadera.
Also on Saturday, a 70-year-old man from Kiryat Gat was listed in serious condition at Barzilai Hospital after nearly drowning off the coast of Ashkelon.
On Friday, two people drowned and one person was moderately injured while swimming off the coasts of Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The surf at the nation's beaches over the weekend was particularly rough.
Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin said "these actions again demonstrate the importance of taking a basic first-aid course at MDA stations around the country." To register, call 1-700-500-430 or go to www.mdais.org.
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