A 74-year-old man from Israel’s Sharon region collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest in the duty-free area at Ben Gurion Airport while on his way to a flight to Greece.
Two El Al employees, who also volunteer as rapid-response medics with Magen David Adom, arrived at the scene within about a minute, began CPR, and successfully restored his heartbeat using a defibrillator.
At the time of the incident, the two El Al employees received the emergency alert through MDA’s responder app. Reaching the scene quickly, they found the man unconscious and immediately began resuscitation efforts.
At the same time, they asked another passenger to bring a defibrillator located in the airport’s public area. Within minutes, they administered two electric shocks with the device, and the man’s heart began beating again.
An MDA intensive care ambulance team that arrived shortly afterward continued life-saving treatment and evacuated the patient to Sheba Medical Center in stable condition.
The responders, emergency medical technicians Efraim Friedman of Petah Tikva and Yosef Zaks of Modi'in Illit, described the incident:
“We were standing near the elevator when suddenly we received an alert through the MDA responder app about an unconscious man. We went up one floor in the elevator and ran quickly to the scene. We performed resuscitation efforts, and within a short time his heart started beating again."
They added: “He gradually regained consciousness and did not understand what had happened around him. We explained that we were taking him to the hospital, and he said he couldn’t because he was on his way to a flight. After we explained his medical condition, we evacuated him to the hospital in stable condition. It’s an emotional event - being in the right place at the right time - and thanks to the defibrillator placed in the public area at Ben Gurion Airport, we were able to save his life."