You are here

Divers rescue nine swimmers at Dead Sea in 16-hour operation

By Rana Husseini - Mar 28,2015 - Last updated at Mar 28,2015

AMMAN — Nine people, including two Iraqi children, were rescued by Civil Defence Department (CDD) divers and other rescue teams at the Dead Sea over the weekend, an official source said Saturday.

Two CDD divers were promoted on Saturday from the rank of corporal to the rank of sergeant “for their bravery in the rescue operations”, a senior CDD official said.

“Corporals Omar Balawneh and Fadi Manaseer remained in the sea for around 16 hours with the swimmers calming them down and taking care of them until rescue boats reached them,” the CDD official told The Jordan Times.

Therefore, the official added, the CDD director decided to promote them “to honour their bravery in saving people’s lives”.

Four of the nine were swimming at the Amman Public Beaches on Friday when strong waves pushed them away from the beach, he said.

“The high density of salt in the Dead Sea and the strong waves because of the weather made it hard for them to swim back to the shore,” the official added.

A group of five people, including the two Iraqi children aged 15 and 11, were swimming near a beach close to the hot springs at the same time when they were also pulled further into the sea because of the strong wave, the CDD said.

“CDD divers and other Jordanian rescue forces rushed to the two areas to rescue the swimmers because there were a lot of waves and the weather was sandy, which hindered the rescue operations temporarily,” the CDD official explained.

The joint operation, which lasted over 16 hours, included rescue teams and divers from the CDD, the Public Security Department, the Royal Navy and the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, according to a CDD statement.

“The sandy weather and high waves prevented us from sending rescue boats or using airplanes in the beginning, but once the weather changed we were able to reach the swimmers and our divers to rescue them,” the CDD official explained.

He added that four of the nine swimmers were taken to nearby hospitals for a general check up and were released the same day.

 

up
45 users have voted.


Newsletter

Get top stories and blog posts emailed to you each day.

PDF