Last update - 00:00 10/08/2007
East J'lem man in serious condition after nearly drowning in Kinneret
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
A 73-year-old East Jerusalem man is in serious condition after nearly drowning Friday afternoon in Lake Kinneret.
The incident occurred at a beach that does not have lifeguards on duty.
A Magen David Adom emergency medical team performed CPR on the man, and then transferred him to Poriya Hospital in Tiberias for treatment.
Meanwhile, rescue services fear for the life of a 54-year-old man who disappeared Thursday evening while swimming in Lake Kinneret.
The man, a resident of the Arava, was out for a cruise with friends, when he jumped off the boat in order to go swimming.
Heavy winds pushed the boat away from the man, who began to drown as he tried to swim back to the boat.
The man's friends reported the incident to the Tiberias Police, who immediately called in a marine patrol as well as volunteer divers for the search.
The search, which lasted for several hours and was focused on the area south of Tiberias, failed to locate the man.
"The diving was conducted a distance of roughly 200 meters from the shore, at a depth of roughly 17 meters," said Moriah Hatzav, a volunteer diver who participated in the search.
The search was renewed at first light Friday morning, but was called off in the afternoon. Ra'am-Ta'al MK Abbas Zakur accused police of calling off the search due to the fact that the man is an Arab.