Samr and Hekal at the scene
Exclusive – Rescuing A Girl Who Fell Off A Cliff
Ein Naqquba – On Sunday evening, United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Samr Salama was in his home in the town of Ein Naqquba when his emergency communications device began alerting him of an active medical emergency. A 16-year-old girl had been hiking in the Ein Naqquba forest when she suddenly fell six meters down a cliff.
As Samr received the alert, there was no given address, only the general area, and so Samr picked up his medical bag and headed out toward the forest area in between Ein Naqquba and the town Tzova. Samr began searching the outer streets of Ein Naqquba when he was joined by volunteer Shahen Hekal.
The two searched the vicinity for about ten minutes before they were joined by an ambulance crew that joined their search efforts. A resident, who had seen the girl leaving the town, pointed out to the rescuers the direction in which she went. After receiving the information and able to get their bearings, Samr and Shahen grabbed a stretcher and rushed out, on foot, into the forest as the ambulance was unable to enter the rocky woods.
After a few minutes of searching, Samr and Shahen located the cliff and found the teenage girl on the ground, injured and in pain from the hard fall. The young girl was thankfully fully conscious but had a number of injuries to her upper limbs as well as a major leg injury. After conducting a quick check of the girl, Samr and Shahen found that she thankfully had no head injuries.
After bandaging her wounds, immobilizing her leg, and applying a neck brace for C-spine stabilization, the girl was given water and then put on the stretcher ready to be carried out of the woods. Samr and Shahen were then joined by two additional medical personnel, and the four walked back to the outskirts of Ein Naqquba, where a mobile intensive care ambulance was waiting to take the girl to the nearest hospital.
“This was by far one of the hardest, and most intense emergencies I have responded to,” Samr said. “It took several minutes to find the girl, and time was working against us. Not only was the sun slowly setting, taking away our light and chances of locating the girl, but there was also a risk of an animal attack in the area that she fell. The stretcher and equipment were heavy, it felt like I was back in the army doing a drill. Despite the intensity of the resque, I’m glad that I was there to help and that the girl was safe.”
