Man Dies After Being Sucked into Israeli Swimming Pool Sinkhole; Couple Arrested for Negligence
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Israeli police said Friday they placed a couple under house arrest, a day after a man attending a party at their villa died after being sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of their swimming pool, as was reported by the AP.
The man and woman, both in their sixties, are suspected of causing death by negligence, police said. The AP reported that they were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them Friday under “restrictive conditions of house arrest” for five days.
The incident happened during a private party the couple hosted at their house in the town of Karmi Yosef, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the city of Tel Aviv, as was reported by the AP.
Mobile phone video from the scene shows floaties and water being sucked to the bottom, at the center of the pool, as people sitting by the poolside shout in Hebrew. The AP reported that a man is seen approaching the sinkhole, slips and is almost pulled in before he backs away.
The police said the deceased was found following a search mission in which Israeli police, emergency crews and the army took part, according to the AP story.
Israeli media cited witnesses as saying the party was attended by nearly 50 people, of whom six were in the pool, and also reported that the homeowner had built the pool without proper licensing, as was reported by the AP.
The Times of Israel reported that on Thursday night, the man who died as a result of the swimming pool sinkhole was identified by police. He was 32-year-old Klil Kimhi. His death came as a result of falling into a sinkhole that was 43 feet deep. Rescue teams worked for four hours until they were able to reach him, according to the TOI report. He was later pronounced dead.
Kimhi’s body was retrieved in a complex operation that required the assistance of Go-Pro cameras hooked to the helmets of the rescue workers as they were lowered deep underground, as was reported by TOI.
Fire and Rescue Services said the search was complicated by fears that tunnels branching out of the sinkhole could cause a secondary collapse. TOI also reported that they built a support structure to prevent the pool’s surface from further collapsing on them before they were able to locate the missing man’s body.
Speaking to Channel 12 news, one of the people who had attended the pool party said there were roughly 50 people at the scene when disaster struck.
A second man was nearly pulled away by the receding water but he managed to climb out, according to the TOI report. He suffered light injuries to his lower body and was treated at the scene by paramedics.
