The deserts of Petra
Photo: Tamar Ben Hanan
Jordan: Israeli hikers save British man
Yom Kippur War veteran rescues young Briton who fell from high cliffs in Jordan. 'I was sure we were going to lose him,' Yair Farjoun says
What started as a laid-back trip around the ancient Jordanian city of Petra quickly turned into a dramatic rescue operation. A group of Israelis hiking in a deserted area near Petra last Thursday suddenly noticed a young man shouting at them from one of the hills.
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"He ran in panic, calling out for help in English," said Yair Farjoun, Hof Ashkelon Regional Council head.
Farjoun is a decorated former IDF paratrooper who fought on the Syrian front during the Yom Kippur War.
"We realized something bad had happened," he said.
When the man reached the Israeli hikers he explained that his friend had fallen off a high cliff and that he was unconscious and bleeding.
"I asked him where his friend was but he didn't know exactly," Farjoun said. "Then a Bedouin girl who looked about 8-years-old approached us. We asked her if she knew where the cliffs the Englishman was talking about were. She said she did."
The young girl led Farjoun, carrying his first aid kit, to the cliffs. "She ran through the mountains like an antelope. I asked her to slow down, but she ran and ran and didn't stop. We climbed hills, passed valleys, ran like crazy."
After about an hour of running through the desert they reached the cliffs where they noticed the Englishman laying on the ground unconscious.
"He was severely injured. I was sure we were going to lose him in a few seconds. I dressed his wounds and stopped his head from bleeding, but he remained unconscious," Farjoun said.
Nearly four hours later, when the sun had already set, the Jordanian rescue forces - called by the Israeli hikers - arrived on the scene. The man was taken to the hospital and managed to recover.
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