Emergency services located the body of Moshe Lodimer, 17, on Friday, three days after he was swept away by the Nahal Modi’in stream in the West Bank during a heavy rainstorm earlier this week.

Search and rescue operations started after Lodimer’s friend, who was swept away alongside him on Tuesday but managed to escape, reported him missing in the immediate wake of the incident. According to Channel 12 News, Lodimer’s friend said he also tried to escape but was unable to.

The Fire and Rescue Service said 15 teams, comprising dozens of firefighters trained in complex rescue operations, worked around the clock alongside the Israel Police and ZAKA.

The latter said its volunteers were at the scene on Friday to assist in the handling of the body.

According to Ynet, the search spanned 20 kilometers of the river and experts made use of drones and police dogs to try to locate the missing teen. The fire service noted that the searches were conducted under difficult weather conditions, with the riverbank still flooded.

In a statement, Deputy Fire Chief Shlomi Harush emphasized that citizens must stay away from flood sites and reiterated that anyone who finds themselves near an overflowing stream, which is common during stormy weather, should immediately distance themselves for their own........

© The Times of Israel