Second boat operator held over near-fatal Eilat boat collision

The operator of the second of two boats involved in Tuesday's accident in Eilat, which left two teens very seriously injured, was arrested Wednesday afternoon.

Omri Amar, 14, and Lidor Abudi, 15, both of Gan Yavne, are still in critical condition at Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. A hospital spokesman said Abudi's life is still in danger. Three other people were slightly injured.

Police Wednesday arrested Shiran Malka, 22, of Eilat, who was operating the boat pulling the inner tube in which four Gan Yavne teens were riding. His craft collided with a boat pulling a water skiier. The operator of that boat, Shai Blobel, was arrested shortly after the accident. Wednesday he was ordered held through this afternoon.

Police Chief Superintendent Eitan Gadsi, deputy commander of the Eilat police, said Malka was arrested after an investigation showed that he failed to yield right of way to Blobel's boat. Gadsi said the police will ask to extend both suspects' detention Thursday. He said they may face charges including negligent operation of a watercraft and violation of boating laws, including failure to maintain a proper lookout, failure to maintain proper distance and failure to yield right-of-way.

Blobel claimed during his arraignment Wednesday that he was not responsible for the accident, and accused Malka of negligence. "I was going slowly, without endangering any other boats. When I saw his boat cutting me off with its prow, I went into reverse," Blobel said. "If I hadn't done that, all four [of the teens in the inner tube] would have died. It doesn't matter what I did - it was his negligence. It's true that they collided with my boat and that it sent them flying, but I rescued and resuscitated them," Malka told the court.

Mordechai Blobel, Shai Blobel's father, stopped at Soroka on his way from Haifa to Eilat to see his son.

"I came in order to express my empathy with the pain of the families," Mordechai Blobel said.