Man dies after being sucked into swimming pool hole
About 50 people were celebrating a company party in a private house when the hole appeared with the bathers inside. Another 34-year-old man suffered minor injuries.
A 32-year-old man died on Thursday in Karmei Yosef, Israel, when he was sucked into a hole that suddenly opened up in a pool in which he was bathing. The incident occurred in a private house in the Israeli town, where some 50 people were celebrating a company party, according to The Times of Israel.
Tragedy in Israel swimming pool
Another 34-year-old man was also pulled in by the hole, but managed to get out, suffering only minor injuries to his lower body, for which he had to be treated by the paramedics.
The rescue teams needed four hours and Go-Pro cameras attached to the experts’ helmets to be able to extract the body of the deceased man, Klil Kimhi, who was at the end of a 15-meter-deep tunnel. According to the fire services and rescue teams, the operation was complicated by fears that the tunnels leading out of the hole could cause a further collapse.
A video of the incident shared online shows the hole opening up and the pool collapsing, sucking in the water, and with it the floats and bathers in a matter of seconds.
The owners of the house under arrest
According to the Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic, the incident is “very unusual.”
“When I got to the scene, I saw a hole that had opened up at the bottom of the empty pool. The people who were at the scene told me that the well suddenly opened and within a few seconds all the water in the pool was sucked in,” the doctor explained, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Israeli police are now investigating the events and have arrested the couple who own the house for possible negligent homicide. The authorities claim that the owners did not apply for a permit before building the pool. “They could have avoided this situation if they had obtained a permit,” said Rami Desta, a police spokesperson.
The lawyer for the couple was very critical of the arrest of their clients.
“They are good people. The woman has been working as a nurse for decades. The man is sick, he takes pills. Their son is post-traumatic from the army. You guys arrested them and left him alone.
“The interrogation was brief and they cooperated, there was no need to arrest them for the full night,” explained the lawyer, according to the Ynet newspaper. Finally, both were released on Friday and are under house arrest at their daughter’s home.