Soldier in training collapses in front of friends, dies in hospital
Military trainee in Air Force anti-aircraft unit collapses on training base in southern Israel; evacuated to Soroka hospital where he passes away
A basic training cadet in an Air Force anti-aircraft unit died after collapsing and falling to the ground in a training base in southern Israel on Wednesday.
Despite several efforts to resuscitate him, he died after he was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
The solider had been carrying out menial tasks around the training base on a day dubbed "day without exertion" because no physical training was to be carried out.
In the afternoon hours, the soldier abruptly lost consciousness and fell to the ground in front of his comrades.
A few minutes later, a medical team from the military base arrived to administer first aid to him and attempted to resuscitate the cadet. A helicopter was called to the scene and evacuated the cadet to Soroka. Attempts to save his life continued on board the helicopter ride to no avail.
The IDF's chief medical officer, Brig. Gen. Dr. Nachman Esh, has appointed an investigatory commission to look into the circumstances of the incident. Military police will also examine the incident in order to discern if any foul play was involved.
The IDF has suffered a string of training accidents in recent months.
In November of last year, First Sergeant Assaf Waxman (res.) was killed in a training accident in the Golan Heights, after the armored personnel carrier he was traveling in flipped over.
In that same month, First Sergeant-Major Yariv Ben-Amitai, 21, was killed in an operational accident at the Gaza Strip border, near the Kissufim checkpoint
Ben-Amitai, from the Golani Brigade's 13th regiment, was killed after his Hummer overturned during a routine patrol along the border fence.
