Two young sisters were rescued from a minefield they apparently wandered into during a family hike in southern Israel on Wednesday.
The family of the two sisters — ages six and 13 — called up rescue forces after they wandered off trail. Rescue personnel that arrived at the scene guided the girls back to safety after four heart-wrenching hours.
Rescuers extract two young girls who wandered into a minefield in southern Israel
(Video: Arava Rescue Team)
Uri Lev, the security officer of the Central Arava Regional Council, said that the girls strayed off the trail into the minefield after hiking along the Tamar Stream, near the Dead Sea, in an area where the fence either fell or was moved by other hikers.
"They wandered off without their parents noticing, and the dad immediately saw them, told them not to move and called the police."
Lev said that the girls had to stand still for the next two hours before they were finally rescued emotionally drained and exhausted.
"The rescuers made their way to the girls and extracted them in an orderly fashion. The moment they returned to safety, they ran to hug their parents who were relieved but wary. We asked they be brought water with a drone but the parents feared they would make a wrong move," he said.
Meanwhile, the police called on hikers to only walk along marked routes and recommended informing emergency contacts of their estimated arrival times.