Light aircraft carrying two people plunges into sea near Bat Yam, pilot escapes with minor injuries, 15-year-old unconscious and in critical condition.
A light aircraft crashed Friday afternoon into the sea near Bat Yam’s Tayo Beach. The IDF Air Force’s elite 669 rescue unit was dispatched to the scene.
The aircraft was carrying two individuals: the pilot and a teenage boy around 15 years old.
According to Magen David Adom (MDA), the pilot managed to exit the water and is in light condition, while the teenager was trapped inside the aircraft, which sank. He was rescued shortly thereafter, and MDA teams are currently evacuating him to Wolfson Medical Center while performing CPR.
“There’s a plane upside down in the water, unbelievable! Wow!” one person can be heard saying in a video circulating online.
Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot, who arrived at the scene, said, “Lifeguards reported that the plane was flying along the shoreline and suddenly dove into the sea.” He added that the lifeguards rushed toward the aircraft and rescued the pilot, while divers later assisted in rescuing the teen.
MDA emergency medics Eran Carmel, Haggai Natani, and Ofek Elzam shared, “We received calls from several civilians reporting a light aircraft in the water. We quickly arrived at the shoreline using a 4X4 ambulance and heavy motorcycles. We saw the aircraft submerged. A man around 60 years old was rescued to us, fully conscious. A few minutes later, a 15-year-old boy who had been trapped was brought out. He was unconscious, pulseless, and not breathing. We immediately began resuscitation, including CPR, ventilation, and administering medications, and evacuated him to the hospital in critical condition via a MDA intensive care ambulance.”
