Car Falls Into Jordan River Near Arik Bridge After Driver Mistakes Turn

An unusual incident occurred Thursday morning when a private car fell into the Jordan River near the Arik Bridge. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene, but fortunately, no serious injuries were reported. The driver told reporters that he was blinded by the sun and made a wrong turn, causing the vehicle to plunge into the water.

Videos of the car submerged in the river circulated widely on social media, prompting various comments. A rescue operation is now underway to retrieve the vehicle from the river. Such incidents are rare; the last notable case was in 2016 when a car slipped into the Jordan River near Kibbutz Gadot, resulting in a child being critically injured.

Magen David Adom paramedics treated two additional injured individuals on site: a woman in her mid-20s with a head injury in moderate condition, and a man in his mid-20s with minor injuries. Emergency medic Yigal Ben Odez described how three passengers were rescued from the vehicle by bystanders before paramedics and firefighters arrived. A three-year-old girl was found without pulse or breathing and underwent prolonged resuscitation before being airlifted in critical condition to the hospital. Two other adults, a woman around 30 and a man of similar age, were also evacuated with injuries ranging from head trauma to minor wounds.