Israeli Hiker Falls To Death Out Of Rescue Helicopter

JERUSALEM — Authorities say an Israeli hiker who was rescued from a minefield fell to his death from an army helicopter that was evacuating him.

The 24-year-old man from an Arab village in northern Israel was hiking with some friends Wednesday when he inadvertently stumbled into a minefield left over from one of Israel's wars and stepped on a mine.

The military sent a helicopter to airlift the seriously injured man to a hospital. But as rescuers were hoisting him into the aircraft at the end of a rope, he fell 60 feet (20 meters) back into the minefield and died on impact.

Video footage of the incident was shown on Israeli TV.

A military spokesman said the air force chief opened an investigation into the incident Thursday.

Comments

[RoseMerry]

05:28 PM on 03/14/2009

No civilized would broadcast such footage. Even a public execution is justified as a deterrent.

But I could not criticized Israel for that without knowledging that many U.S. TV stations and a few networks would. They probably all ready have.

[YankeeCanuck]

08:37 PM on 03/14/2009

I doubt Israel has been criticized for that footage. But, it works for them. It shows Palestinian citizens of Israel what can happen if they hike in areas with wire fencing (which is all over the place)-- sometimes there's a minefield. The rescue may have truly ended in an accidental fall-- but it does serve as a warning nonetheless.

[YankeeCanuck]

03:44 PM on 03/14/2009

The tone of the comments on this story--the joking about it--lacks humanity.
The politicization of it is, I suppose, inevitable. But we do not know what really happened-- nor is it likely that we will.
We can imagine a story of what really happened several ways, but the one who could tell us is dead.
As in DEAD.
It is not funny in any way I can see.

About the political undertones, perhaps we should do a check-in with whether or not Israel is practicing apartheid. THe Wall is called just that, but not in Afrikaans. The "Separation Wall."
It is not good for anyone, not for Israelis, nor Palestinians-- who bear the brunt of its impact.

Civilians should not be targeted-- not by rocket attacks, and not by overwhelming force with weapons designed for urban combat against a civilian population. There has been an overwhelming disproportionality, but I'll let that be. It is not good for Israel. And that is one good reason it should stop.
Israelis should be able to live in peace-- and so should Palestinians ( and, they are not really Arabs.)

[Zofomofo]

05:58 PM on 03/13/2009

Out of the fire and into the frying pan, damn that suck's.

[motoGpifupleez]

03:41 PM on 03/13/2009

"Video footage of the incident was shown on Israeli TV".
Can't you just see the American Media chiefs right now wishing they could show footage like that without having to stop just before the "money shot moment".

[groot]

01:08 AM on 03/14/2009

i remember in the early 80s dan rather showed a guy getting shot to death on a sidewalk, so there is precedent. not sure what the roadblock is now...

[Ms Fu]

03:40 PM on 03/13/2009

Purely tragic. Purely tragic.

[dontomas]

02:33 PM on 03/13/2009

There are probably hundreds of innocent people who will die today as a result of human brutality in one form or another. Perhaps the media could go in depth with each of these persons.

[Thomas Taraba]

11:40 AM on 03/14/2009

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world-middleeast/20090313/ML.Israel.American.Wounded/

[Wazzat]

09:53 PM on 03/14/2009

Thanks for the link... not surprisingly, this sort of incident does not get much coverage in the US media.

I lived in Israel for a year and a half , in 1985. Though I haven't been there since, my impression is that things have gotten much worse, because of the extremists on both sides. The constant building of settlements, bulldozing of houses,
and the building of the wall are sad acts of people who have lost their humanity. The extremists have manipulated the Israeli govt and the US govts into backing their twisted
designs. It will all likely turn out very badly, which is a great tragedy.

[surfcitysteven]

01:00 PM on 03/13/2009

Well now we need to make one more mine here in America. That will help with jobs here. Perhaps there will be some more orders so Israel can surround more Arab villages. We can call it '"minefield stimulus". Seriously, if you have a job here in America and it is to make these things, you are a disgrace to humanity.

[lightningbolt]

11:17 AM on 03/13/2009

If the surrounding tyrannical Arab dictatorships hadn't attacked Israel in the first place, those land mines would not be there. Those who start wars are responsible for all the deaths that come as a result of their actions.

[surfcitysteven]

02:44 PM on 03/13/2009

I agree with you on most points. Bush is responsible for 100s of thousands of deaths for the wars he started. Tyrannical Arab Dictatorships? The good old USA of which you wave your flag so proudly is responsible for creating all of them, especially Saddam Hussein.

[springsm]

03:49 PM on 03/13/2009

Listen, there are Israelis and there are Zionists. Do they really need to mine the whole area. When each side loves their children more than they hate the others...there might be an attempt to stop the killing.

[barrycourage]

06:14 AM on 03/14/2009

Nice egalitarian twist on Golda Meir.

[politicizematters]

09:43 AM on 03/13/2009

Geez, enough with the conspiracy theories and blame. They tried to rescue a guy who was injured (and perhaps couldn't get into a basket?) and a terrible accident ensued. Can't you just agree that it's sad for the man and his family?

[surfcitysteven]

03:56 PM on 03/13/2009

I saw the video and I bet they would have put on a more competent effort to get the guy to safety if he wasn't Arab. Maybe he wasn't, I don't really know, but there are two "rescuers" tethered above the guy, nice and safe and he is there dangling like a puppet on a string below them. It seems to me if you are going to bother going into a minefield to rescue somebody, you might as well do a good job. They sucked at it. And to get him all the way up to the chopper before you drop him, wow, that was stupid. The main point here though, is the use of mines. Evil.

[ZenJu]

09:35 AM on 03/13/2009

I look forward to the day when the hatred of our neighbours will make the grim necessity of minefields a bad memory. Israel's ready for peace. May the day come soon when there will be a peaceful Palestine in the West Bank, living side-by-side with us, working together in common cause for the good of all.

[tiktokklok]

11:51 AM on 03/13/2009

Israel has never been "ready for peace." That nation of blood-thirsty war-mongers won't rest until it kills off all the Palestinians. It is time for the U.S. to cut off all support to Israel.

[barrycourage]

02:00 PM on 03/13/2009

And the last time one of your relatives was killed by a suicide bomber on a bus was....?

[BadgerinNJ]

09:24 AM on 03/13/2009

An Israeli from an Arab village? Does this mean he was an Arab? Maybe that explains the "accident."

[gbrooks]

09:37 AM on 03/13/2009

I hate to think that way, but that was my initial thought as well. The racism has been getting really bad in Israel.

[dems08]

09:34 PM on 03/13/2009

An Israeli from an Arab village is an Israeli.

[YankeeCanuck]

03:29 PM on 03/14/2009

Except that he does not have the same rights he would have if he were Jewish. He cannot marry a Jewish woman, for example. It's against the law. If he marries someone from the West Bank (occupied territories), he cannot bring his wife to live with him. He must leave--and give up his Israeli "citizenship." He cannot add to, or alter his house in any way--or it will be demolished.
So, there are Israelis and then there are "Israelis."

[dazed]

08:33 AM on 03/13/2009

A winner in the unlucky lottery.

[DKLabRat]

05:07 AM on 03/13/2009

I'm the first to criticise Israel when necessary and I deplore the type of 100%, blind support that many give the country - but I have to say that I'm appalled at the tone of the majority of comments on this article.

Would you be offering sick jokes and political condemnation of the country of origin of the victim if this was a hiker from anywhere else? I doubt it.

We are talking about a human being here - with a family and loved ones - who died in tragic circumstances due to no fault of their own. I would urge you all to consider how you would feel if it was your loved one - would you still be so flippant?

[JohnnyLee]

03:50 PM on 03/13/2009

Most of these guys are just looking for an excuse to wag the finger at Israel. It just goes to show that they are not really serious about their ideas.

[grizzlyfed]

02:38 AM on 03/13/2009

holy smokes...just tell me, whoever the hell it was, that they landed right back on another one of the mines. It's horrible, I know..but just think of the irony of it all.

[majormoderate]

01:24 PM on 03/13/2009

i hope i can come up with some witty comment upon your death and anonymously post it on an internet blog looking for jokes. keep up the good work!

[surfcitysteven]

04:00 PM on 03/13/2009

You can see the whole thing on youtube. Sorry to dissappoint you, but there was no "second" explosion.

[SpaghettyIrish]

01:02 AM on 03/13/2009

"From an Arab village?" So he's an Arab? Nice "accident."