A terrifying incident occurred on Thursday afternoon when a sinkhole suddenly opened on the bottom of a private pool of a home on the Karmei Yosef yishuv next to Rechovot.

A pool party for employees of a private company was taking place with about 50 people present when at about 2:40 p.m. the water in the pool suddenly began receding and a sinkhole opened up, sweeping two people inside. One 34-year-old man managed to extricate himself, suffering light injuries in the process. MDA paramedics who arrived at the scene administered medical aid and evacuated him to the hospital. They also treated ten people for shock.

Those present realized one man in his 30s was missing and was apparently sucked inside the sinkhole. Fire and Rescue Services and the police, assisted by the IDF, carried out a complex rescue operation for the missing man. According to Fire and Rescue Services, the search was complicated due to fears of a secondary collapse.

The man, in his 30s, was found lifeless close to 7 p.m. after about four hours of searches.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)