Despite being wounded by shrapnel, Yair Frankenthal used his first-aid training to help fellow students after an unexploded munition detonated near Israel's northern border. "I immediately began checking who needed medical attention," he recalled.
Frankenthal, 15, a youth volunteer with Magen David Adom (MDA), was among the students injured when an unexploded munition detonated during a school hike on Ramim Ridge in northern Israel. Despite his own injuries, he continued helping his wounded classmates.
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MDA youth volunteer Yair Frankenthal was injured in the blast
(Photo: Courtesy of Magen David Adom)
"I instructed my younger brother's friend, who was also on the trip and was injured by shrapnel, on how to treat himself so I could go and help those who were more seriously wounded," Frankenthal recalled.
"After I heard the loud explosion, I realized I had been injured too, but I immediately began checking who needed medical attention so I could use the knowledge I'd gained from the first-aid course I took as an MDA youth volunteer," he continued.
"The other boys called MDA's emergency hotline, and I began providing medical treatment to one of the boys who was very seriously injured. I noticed he had no pulse and wasn't breathing, so I performed CPR until the MDA first responder arrived."
The bomb that exploded during the school hike
Frankenthal said he sustained relatively minor injuries. "I was lightly injured by two pieces of shrapnel that penetrated my leg and shoulder. I'm feeling well, and I'm happy to be going home from the hospital today."
David Radko, a volunteer EMT with MDA's motorcycle response unit who also works as a teacher, described the events of Monday's deadly incident, in which ninth-grade student Yair Wilensky was killed.
"I immediately began triaging the casualties and stopping their bleeding. Despite the horrific scenes and the distress they were experiencing, the boys cooperated with me in an extraordinary way," he said. "Everyone tried to help their friends as much as they could. Some even applied tourniquets to their friends to stop the bleeding."
Radko, 29, a resident of Kiryat Shmona, was the first emergency responder to arrive at the scene. "I was returning from work when MDA's emergency dispatch center alerted me to the incident, and I immediately headed in that direction," he recalled.
"Reaching the injured was complicated because of the terrain, but I did everything I could to get there quickly. From the first glance, it was clear that this was a very serious scene. The injured were scattered along the route, some holding their wounded friends and trying to help them. Further along, I saw those who were more seriously injured."
The scene of the explosion
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For Radko, who teaches 10th grade, the incident was particularly difficult.
"This incident hits a very sensitive spot for me," he said. "I'm a 10th-grade homeroom teacher myself, and arriving at a scene like this makes you think of the injured boys as though they were your own students. And, of course, without even realizing it, I immediately put myself in the shoes of the teachers who were on that trip."
Throughout the incident, Radko remained in contact with MDA's emergency dispatch center, helping additional medical teams reach the location while continuing to treat the injured students.
He also praised the students who assisted him and their wounded friends. "I gave them instructions on how to help, and they listened and followed them," he said. "It was an extremely difficult and complex scene, and seeing injured children in that condition is never easy. We did everything we could to provide them with the best possible care."