Jerusalem – An 8-year- old Israeli boy spent six hours floating in the Dead Sea alone at night after his father left him there by accident during a family trip, police said Sunday.
They said they would not press charges against the parent.
The Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth and one of Israel’s most popular tourist attractions, has an abnormally high salt concentration that allows swimmers to float easily on the surface.
Rescue workers said the boy, Shneur Zalman Friedman, from Jerusalem, was in the sea with his father and two brothers Thursday evening when currents swept him away from shore without anyone else noticing.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the family was part of a large group visiting a beach reserved for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, away from main public areas. The boy’s father left the water with other members of the group and noticed the boy was missing only as darkness fell, Rosenfeld said.
A major search by police helicopters and volunteers in motorboats finally found Shneur about 2 miles from the shore early Friday after six hours in the strong-smelling, corrosive water, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav of the Zaka rescue organization said.
The boy was dehydrated and frightened but otherwise healthy, he said. Shneur told his rescuers he remained calm by saying prayers and thinking about his school friends as he floated in the darkness.
