PHOTOS: ZAKA Divers Complete An Advanced Six-Month Training

(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

With the trauma of the tragic week-long search for 3 drowning victims in the Kinneret last Pesach still fresh in their minds, 18 divers from the elite ZAKA diving unit have completed a grueling six-month training course just in time for this Pesach. This, as part of ZAKA’s ongoing training program to improve the efficiency and professionalism of the response to missing persons at sea or in bodies of water.

The course, which included 18 meetings over the course of six months, dealt with issues related to search and recovery in all types of water conditions, including particularly challenging conditions with limited visibility. The course included practical and theory and ended with a full drill in the Kinneret. The 18 ZAKA divers (including one female diver) graduated from the course with the ERDI qualification.

The training included how to operate in emergency diving events – from planning to implementation, to coping with extreme conditions such as murky water, tangled grids, and techniques that included a single diver connected by rope to another person on land.

Commander of the ZAKA Divers Unit Chaim Outmazgin: “All the graduates of this unique course completed training given by some of the world’s best divers in dealing with complex underwater situations. These volunteers are amazing people who, like other ZAKA volunteers, put the good of others before themselves. At the end of the training, these elite ZAKA divers are fully ready and equipped to deal with any event, disaster or missing person at sea or in a body of water. This training has finished just before Pesach. We still remember the trauma of searching in the Kinneret last Pesach. It took the emergency services nearly a week to recover the three bodies. With our increased skills thanks to this training, we feel better prepared for whatever tomorrow will bring.”