Jewish Agency envoy killed in boating accident in Florida
Fatal Incident occurs as 24-year-old Michal Elboim sitting on bow of boat falls into water, gets hit by propeller
Michal Elboim, a 24-year-old Jewish Agency emissary, was killed Sunday in a boating accident in Florida. The young woman, who had resided in the United States for about a year, had planned to return to Israel soon.
Elboim was responsible for arranging letters from the Jewish community's children to children in the rocket-battered town of Sderot and was involved in raising funds for the south's residents.
Her parents were informed of her death on their way to a cruise overseas. She was survived by her parents, sister and brother.
"Michael loved to travel and to contribute to the society. She was an ideological and Zionist person who always thought about education and values," said her good friend Gal. "This is the reason why she became a Jewish Agency emissary."
"Everyone who worked closely with her is devastated. We are stunned," said the president of the Jewish community in the area, who knew her well. "All we know at the moment is that she was killed in a terrible accident," he added.
According to US authorities, Elboim was sitting on the bow of a sailing boat in Perdido Bay. She fell into the water and was hit by the boat's propeller. She was pulled out of the water and underwent resuscitation attempts. Meanwhile, a helicopter was dispatched to the area to take her to a nearby hospital, but she was proclaimed dead shortly afterwards.
The boat had been carrying 10 people, some of them members of the UN Navy. The accident took place as the person holding the steering wheel tried to teach one of the passengers how to use it. A sudden move caused Elboim to fall into the water.
"It all happened within seconds," noted one of the officers appointed to investigate the accident, estimating that there was no alcohol involved. Following the incident, local authorities reiterated their warning against sitting on the bow of a boat during a sail.
Yael Branovsky, Roi Mandel and Yael Levy contributed to this report
