Last update - 00:00 18/09/2006
Naval commando candidate dies during pre-conscription trials
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Seventeen-year-old Aharon Tzarfati of Ra'anana died Monday during pre-conscription evaluations of candidates for the naval commando in the second similar death over the past month.
The navy initiated an investigation into the incident and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz ordered a halt to all such evaluation exercises until findings of the probe are available.
Tzarfati was laid to rest Monday night at the military cemetery in Ra'anana.
Last month, 17-year-old Itai Sharon died as a result of heat exhaustion during evaluations of candidates for pre-flight school.
Tzarfati died during a test of underwater endurance at the naval commando base in Atlit. The evaluation of candidates began Sunday and included some 200 12th-graders.
The candidates underwent an overall evaluation in April ensuring that they were qualified to undergo further tests in special forces units.
The evaluation process for the naval commando lasts four days, and includes training both on land and at sea. Among the qualities tested are stamina, technical capabilities, and psychological characteristics.
A few dozen candidates succeed in passing this stage, and then move on to individual interviews with a committee that determines whether they are eligible to participate in the demanding training program of the elite unit.
The candidates participated in a short march Sunday night to familiarize themselves with equipment. Early yesterday morning, they took part in a longer trek, and then moved on to training in the water.
The exercise, which is carried out by 15 candidates at a time, seeks to test their ability to endure the pressures of being under water, and is carried out in a modest depth of one meter near a pier. However, each candidate uses a blacked-out mask and snorkel that often induces feelings of claustrophobia.
Water often enters the snorkel tube, and the candidate is expected to blow it out. In case of an emergency, the candidates are able to pull themselves out with an emergency rope and inform the instructor of their problem.
During the exercise yesterday, one of the instructors on the pier saw Tzarfati on the sea floor and pulled him out. A medical unit tried to revive him but failed, and a reservist unit doctor confirmed his death.
As a result of the accident, the evaluations stopped, and the candidates were sent home after meeting psychologists.
Major General David Ben-Bassat appointed a committee of inquiry into the incident, the cause of which remains unclear.
Naval commando sources said yesterday that Tzarfati was very motivated, and stood out among the group that went on a trek.
They raised the possibility that this was a case in which he was "too motivated," and failed to inform the instructors that he was experiencing a problem fearing it would disqualify him as a candidate.
Another possibility may be related to a medical problem such as heart failure or dehydration.