Granawi. Lightly wounded
צילום: שיה אגוזי
Mine injures 2 near Jordan border
During army groundwork near Israel-Jordan border bulldozer hits landmine; civilian who drove tractor sustains light wounds, army NCO moderately injured
A soldier and a civilian sustained light to moderate wounds Wednesday after a bulldozer hit a landmine near the Rabin Terminal at the Israel-Jordan border in the Arava region in southern Israel.
The mine is believed to have been washed to the place or exposed during a huge flooding that swept the area in February.
Afif Granawi, 24, of the Bedouin town of Rahat, who was lightly injured in the incident, related: "I was working on a bulldozer at the border area near the Rabin Terminal. We were performing groundwork for the army in order to level the road and prepare it for fixing the fence."
"I was using the bulldozer to push the soil that was eroded during the flooding, when suddenly I heard a loud 'boom' and the bulldozer's wheel, which weighs almost two tons, was blown to the air," he recounted.
"I received a blow to the head and fell off the tractor, but now I feel fine," he concluded.
An IDF NCO who was working at the place was moderately wounded as a result of the blast. "I saw him lying on the ground. He was injured by shrapnel," Granawi described, and added that when he first came to work in the place no one warmed him there may be mines in the area.
Magen David Adom teams evacuated the wounded to the Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat. The NCO was hospitalized with three broken ribs and will have to remain at the Surgical Unit for medical supervision. Granawi is set to be released by the end of the day.
The army has closed the road following the explosion and banned the passage of civilians through the area. Police sappers are currently canvassing the region to ensure no other mines have been left there.
