Two people on Saturday drowned in separate incidents and five others nearly drowned as strong currents imperiled bathers who flocked to the beaches on the Sabbath.

An 18-year-old drowned about 500 meters south of the Sironit Beach in Netanya. Paramedics were unable to revive him.

A 37-year-old Yokne'am resident drowned at the undeclared Olga Beach west Hadera. The victim's father, in his sixties, was seriously injured after he entered the water in an attempt to save his son and was evacuated unconscious to Hillel Yaffeh Medical Center.

	Advertisement

"The younger man was lifeless, the older man was unconscious and had no pulse," one of the paramedics said. "We tried resuscitation for twenty minutes, until the blood pressure and pulse came back. He was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition."

Four people in their twenties and a 15-year-old were rescued from the water at Caesarea.

On Friday, a 27-year-old East Jerusalem resident drowned off a beach in Tel Aviv. The man was in the water with his wife when a lifeguard noted that the two were drowning and tried to save them. Magen David Adom emergency medical service paramedics tried to resuscitate the man but were unsuccessful. His wife was taken to hospital for treatment.