Last update - 00:00 24/09/2006
Two people drown off Israeli beaches over New Year weekend
By Itim
Two people drowned off Israel's coasts over the weekend, as the country celebrated the Jewish New Year holiday.
On Sunday, a Jerusalem man in his seventies drowned at the Dor beach, near the northern town of Zichron Yaakov.
People on the beach noticed the man was in distress and pulled him out of the water. Magen David Adom paramedics who were alerted to the scene pronounced him dead.
Police said there were no fears the death was crime-related, but that the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.
On Saturday, Amnon Sandler, 35, of Acre, died at the Galei Gil beach in the northern town of Nahariya. Sandler arrived at the beach with a friend and decided to get into the water. A few minutes later, swimmers noticed he was immobile and floating.
Sandler's body was sent for an autopsy at Abu Cabir institute of forensic medicine.
Police said they are investigating suspicions of negligence on the part of the lifeguards at the beach, saying that though three lifeguards were present, none of them noticed the man was in distress.
The officers also said they were awaiting the results of the autopsy, to determine whether the man had drowned as a result of a medical problem.