Yair Frankenthal, a 15-year-old boy from Ma'alot and a youth volunteer with Magen David Adom (MDA), was injured Monday in the deadly explosion of unexploded ordnance during a school trip by students from ORT Ma'alot Yeshiva High School on the Ramim Ridge in the Upper Galilee.
Despite sustaining shrapnel injuries himself, he rushed to administer first aid to his friends, performed CPR on one of the seriously injured boys, and helped treat his younger brother, who was also injured.
"After hearing the huge explosion, I realized that I had been injured too, but I immediately began checking who needed medical assistance so I could help using the knowledge I had gained in my first aid course," Frankenthal recounted.
The explosion, which occurred near Mitzpe Pe'er during the annual school trip, killed 14-year-old Elazar Yair Wilensky, the youngest of five siblings. Another 24 people were injured, including four seriously, seven moderately, and 13 lightly.
According to Frankenthal, while his friends called emergency services, he approached one of the critically injured boys.
"The other boys called MDA's emergency hotline, and I began providing medical treatment to one of the boys who was very seriously injured. I noticed that he had no pulse and was not breathing, so I performed CPR on him until the first responder arrived," he recalled.
At the same time, Frankenthal had to contend with the fact that his younger brother, who was also participating in the trip, had been injured by shrapnel.
"My younger brother, who was also on the trip, was injured by shrapnel, and I went to check on his condition. A friend who was next to him helped stop the bleeding, and I instructed him on what to do so that I could go help those who were more seriously injured," he said.
Frankenthal, who sustained minor injuries, is expected to be discharged home Tuesday.
"Thank God, I was only lightly injured by two pieces of shrapnel that penetrated my leg and shoulder. I feel well, and I'm happy that I'm already being discharged home today," he said.
The first emergency responder to arrive at the scene was David Radko, 29, from Kiryat Shmona, an MDA emergency medical technician and volunteer with the organization's motorcycle unit. Radko, who also works as a tenth-grade homeroom teacher at a high school, was dispatched to the scene while returning from work.
"As I was returning from work, MDA's 101 emergency dispatch center sent me to the incident, and I immediately headed in that direction. Getting to the injured was difficult because of the terrain, but I did everything I could to arrive quickly," he recounted.
Upon reaching the scene, he encountered harrowing sights.
"Even at first glance, it was clear that this was an extremely difficult scene. The injured were scattered along the trail, some holding their injured friends and trying to help them. Farther along the trail, I saw the more seriously injured casualties."
According to Radko, the fact that he himself teaches students of a similar age made the incident particularly distressing.
"This incident touches a very sensitive nerve for me. I myself work as a tenth-grade homeroom teacher at a high school, and arriving at an incident like this makes you think about the injured teenagers as though you were their teacher. And of course, without even realizing it, I immediately put myself in the shoes of the teachers who were on that trip," he shared.
Radko immediately began triaging the casualties and stopping bleeding, while also helping additional rescue teams reach the difficult-to-access scene.
He said that despite their injuries and fear, the students demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and took action to save their friends.
"Despite the horrific scenes and the distress, the teenagers cooperated with me in an extraordinary way. Everyone tried to help their friends as much as they could. Some even applied tourniquets to their friends to stop the bleeding," he recalled.
"I gave them instructions on how to help, and they listened and acted accordingly. It was an extremely difficult and complex scene, and it is not easy to see injured children in such a condition. We did everything we could to provide them with the best possible treatment," he added.