Members of the hareidi-religious volunteer paramedic organization Ichud Hatzala said Thursday that they fear there will be fatal accidents during the Passover vacation from yeshiva.  Paramedics warned yeshiva students to be careful while hiking, swimming, or otherwise touring in nature.

Several yeshiva students died of dehydration, hypothermia, and car accidents over the course of vacations last year.  Following the deaths of four young students in a jeep accident, rabbis called on students to avoid private trips, and to tour only with organized groups accompanied by guards and medics.

Despite the prohibition, paramedics said, students continue to tour privately, sometimes with tragic results—such as the drowning death of 19-year-old yeshiva student Meir Zamir on Wednesday.  Paramedics called on yeshivot to allow them to conduct safety workshops during the year.  If more students knew basic first aid and safety rules for swimming, driving, and hiking, they said, perhaps lives could be spared.