Petra (archive photo)
Photo: AFP
22-year-old Israel hiker fell to his death in Jordan
A tourist in Jordan hiking with a group of friends fell to his death from a cliff near Petra Wednesday. Israeli and Jordanian authorities made efforts to save him.
A 22-year-old Israeli, Nadav Vinik was killed in Jordan on Wednesday when he fell from a cliff some 30 km south of Petra.
He was hiking with four friends. Around 5:30 pm, he fell from the cliff and lost consciousness. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reported that late Wednesday afternoon, they received a report via the Arava Rescue Unit.
According to this report, the hikers were travelling near Rajaf. One of them had fallen during the hike, and his friends judged his condition to be extremely serious. On receipt of the report, the MFA launched an effort to send rescue forces to the scene.
Nadav Vinik
Representatives from the Israeli embassy to Jordan, including Ambassador Einat Schlein, immediately contacted Jordanian authorities—both in the capital via the local foreign ministry and by contact with local police so that they could send rescue teams—for assistance.
Petra (archive photo from AFP)
Rescue teams reached the scene around 11:30 pm and pronounced Vinik dead. To reach him, rescue teams had to travel five kilometers on foot from the village. Vinik's body was carried out on a stretcher to an accessible area.
The ambassador's deputy, Eitan Sorkis, travelled to the scene. After Vinik's body was recovered, it was brought to a nearby hospital so that Israeli authorities could work to prevent an autopsy, which is forbidden in most cases by Jewish law, and bring the body back to Israel as soon as possible. Vinik's family was notified on Thursday morning.
