Tragedy before the end of 'Between Times': The young man Yair Yechiel Akoka, 15 years old, a resident of Ashdod, drowned last night (Thursday) on the beach in Jaffa.
The boy went to the beach with his brother last night with a surfboard and a tan. Searches were conducted at the scene for hours, until his body washed up on Aliya Beach in Jaffa.
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The parents - Rabbi Michael Akoka from the Haredi community in Ashdod - who were on vacation in Jerusalem, received the bitter news in the middle of their vacation.
Yanki Goldberg, head of the ZAKA team, and volunteer Oshi Rosenberg, who were responding to the scene, said: "The ZAKA call center rushed us to Aliya Beach in Jaffa following a report of a 15-year-old boy who drowned there. According to the estimate, several hours ago the boy went in the sea with his brother to swim, his brother got out and he was left in the water.
""After hours of being missing, he was pulled from the sea unconscious. Medical teams performed prolonged CPR on him and he was evacuated in critical condition, but he was pronounced dead in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.".
""With the help of volunteers, we ensured the dignity of the deceased and assisted the forensic investigators who were working at the scene. The body was transferred for further treatment and examination at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.".
Through vigorous activity by ZAKA Director General Rabbi Zvi Hasid, the rabbi of the Institute of Forensic Medicine Rabbi Asher Landau, and the head of the institute's team, Rabbi Yaakov Steinmetz, the body of the deceased was released.
However, even after the release, drama ensued, as the prosecutor's office demanded another examination - which caused a long delay and concerns that the funeral would not take place before sunset today. After tremendous efforts by ZAKA Director General Zvi Hasid, who worked with the prosecutor's office and all the parties involved, and with the assistance of the Jaffa and Ayalon police stations, the body was released for burial and will be buried today in the Ashdod cemetery.
A ZAKA ambulance transported the deceased's body to Ashdod.
His funeral will take place at 2:00 PM in the Ashdod cemetery, where he will be buried.
