A teenager died on Wednesday after jumping into the Jordan River and drowning.
The teen, Ahiya Araki of the religious Moshav Bnei Re’em in the Shephelah region, was taken to the Ziv Hospital in Tzfat in critical condition where doctors worked to save his life for several hours before pronouncing him dead.
A preliminary investigation by the police found that the boy, who was on a trip with a group of boys his age, jumped into the Jordan River from an improvised springboard, collided with one of his friends who was in the river at the same time, and drowned. He was removed from the water by passersby.
The hospital said that "the boy was brought by a Magen David Adom helicopter after he apparently jumped from a bridge into shallow water, hit his head and drowned. Despite the efforts of the doctors and nurses in the intensive care unit to save his life, the boy died with his parents and family by his side. The social workers at the Ziv Hospital are assisting them. We send our condolences to the family.”
Ahiya is survived by his parents, Yaniv and Gitit Araki, and five brothers. His great-grandmother, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins reside in Moshav Bnei Re’em as well. He will be laid to rest at 2:00 a.m. at the Yesodot cemetery.