Police confirmed that the diver found dead at Haifa’s Students Beach on Saturday was Sgt. First Class Itai Persson, a Border Police soldier from the Counter Terrorism Unit (Yamam), who went free diving with his uncle on Thursday.
The police said they had concluded the search on Saturday, after authorities located his body during a search near Students Beach.
According to official statements, he went a kilometer into the sea in a kayak with his uncle and didn’t manage to return to the surface during one of the free-diving attempts.
Contact was lost on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., when his uncle spotted him for the last time. The police didn’t disclose the reason why he didn’t manage to resurface.
By 9:00 p.m., police were notified, and a search began around the beach area that continued until Saturday afternoon, when his body was found.
The police said that they conducted the search on foot, by air, and by sea, with the help of officers and volunteers from the Carmel region, Border Guard soldiers, maritime police, and the air force, alongside all emergency and rescue agencies and the Haifa Municipality.
This is a developing story.
