A 46-year-old kitesurfer was killed Friday in a fatal accident off the coast of Bat Yam after being caught in extreme weather and powerful winds, authorities and witnesses said.
The victim was identified as Lior Dadon, a longtime kitesurfing enthusiast with more than two decades of experience in the sport. His former wife paid tribute to him in a Facebook post, writing, “You loved the wind so much — a passion of 20 years. You were always waiting for windy days. In the end, the wind took you.”
The moment of the accident in Bat Yam
(Video: Toby Lewis)
In a message posted to an Israeli kitesurfing group, Dadon’s ex-wife announced his death and said funeral arrangements were expected to take place Sunday. She invited members of the surfing community to light memorial candles in his honor Friday evening at the surfers’ club at Tayo Beach in Bat Yam.
Friends and fellow surfers gathered at the beach, lighting candles beside a photo of Dadon. Some traveled from as far as Eilat, saying he often surfed there as well. A message displayed at the memorial read: “The Israeli kitesurfing community mourns the untimely passing of our friend of the wind, Lior Dadon, while doing the thing we all love so much. Your big smile touched us all and will stay with us forever.”
Friends described Dadon as a warm and generous presence. “He always had a smile,” said one close friend. “Before thinking about himself, he cared about everyone else. He was funny and sharp. I love him so much and miss him.” She said she had seen videos from the accident and realized it was likely him, but hoped it was not.
Another friend said Dadon symbolized “endless giving.” “I met him here at Bat Yam Beach when I started surfing,” he said. “Despite the tragedy, if you asked him how he would choose to go, he probably would have said kitesurfing.”
According to emergency services, Dadon entered the water Friday afternoon. Strong winds lifted him from the sea and hurled him more than 150 meters (about 500 feet), slamming him into rocks. He died at the scene. Another surfer was lightly injured.
Magen David Adom ambulance service paramedics said they arrived using off-road vehicles and found Dadon unconscious, without a pulse or breathing and suffering from severe trauma. “We had no choice but to pronounce him dead,” they said.
Ronen Noach, a friend who was kitesurfing with Dadon at the time, told ynet that the group was caught in what he described as an extreme wind vortex. “He was carried by the wind maybe 200 meters and likely hit his head on a rock,” Noach said. “It’s devastating. Everyone’s kite was blown away. There were dozens of us in the water.”
Another surfer, identified only as Oren, said the scene was surreal. “The wind lifted the surfers like nothing,” he said. “It was like something out of a movie.”
Authorities have warned of dangerous conditions along the coastline amid the severe weather.