Israel Electric Corporation CEO Meir Spiegler says the electric company employees who were hit by anti-tank fire on Sunday had to wait in the field for hours under fire from Lebanon and IDF retaliatory fire before they were evacuated.
"Eight of the nine workers were evacuated and were taken for treatment at a hospital. They were all released. We have an additional employee who we have no official information about," Speigler told Keshet 12's morning show.
Spiegler added: "The employees were on the scene repairing damage to an electric pole, and that's part of their daily routine. They were supposed to go up in a cherry picker, and then they began to take fire - including anti-tank missiles - and they were at the scene when the IDF returned fire as well. They were protected by all the required means when the incident began. They were out in the field for over five hours without being able to be evacuated, under fire from both sides. They were only evacuated after dark, and the additional employee was rescued at around midnight."
"We know that everything is coordinated with the security forces, and we don't know what they're doing to protect our employees, and we trust them. The amount of time in which the employees were in the field, which is Israeli territory near Dovev, and were unable to be evacuated, needs to be checked," he noted.
Spiegler noted that three Electric Corporation employees had already lost their lives during the war but added that does not prevent other employees from going to the field, even in complex situations, to repair malfunctions. "Since the Electric Corporation employees see that they are a vital factor for the electric supply, they are motivated and understand the gravity of the situation. There is no doubt that they will go anywhere as needed. We will do everything to protect them and to ensure their safety."