41-Year-Old Woman’s Condition Improves After Severe Boat Accident in Sea of Galilee

A 41-year-old woman who was seriously injured in a boating accident on the Sea of Galilee has shown improvement following surgery, the Poriya Medical Center reported on Sunday. The woman was a passenger on a motorboat piloted by her husband, along with their children, when she slipped and fell into the water around 2 p.m. on Saturday near the Lido beach. She sustained severe leg injuries after being struck by the boat’s propeller.

Emergency medical teams rescued her from the water and transported her to Poriya Medical Center, where she remains hospitalized in the orthopedic ward. Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics described finding her conscious but suffering from serious leg wounds. She was treated on a rescue boat and then transferred to an ambulance waiting onshore.

This incident is one of several safety-related events reported this bathing season at the national lake. Last month, a boat capsized with seven passengers, resulting in moderate chest injuries to one man. Other recent accidents include a high-speed collision between two jet skis about 800 meters from shore and the rescue of two people from a boat fire in northern Sea of Galilee. Previous incidents involved injuries from a boat colliding with a floating tube.

Despite police and the Sea of Galilee Regional Association’s warnings and stricter enforcement against reckless driving and boating under the influence, accidents continue. Currently, there is no limit on the number of motorized watercraft allowed on the lake. Former Tiberias station commander Yigal Ben Lulu warned that the lake cannot accommodate unlimited watercraft, highlighting the influx of approximately 7,000 jet skis as a growing problem.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport is considering regulatory relaxations, including removing the requirement for a boating license to operate a jet ski. Instead, a temporary two-year permit could be issued after passing an online theory test.