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New details revealed about rescue operation after Israeli helicopter crash

Following the crash of an IDF helicopter in Rafah, Gaza, earlier this week, new details about the rescue mission have emerged.

A rescue team from the Kedem Battalion of the Home Front Command joined the troops on the ground. The rescue of the pilot was complicated as she was trapped between the helicopter parts. The rescue operation was successful and the pilot was rescued from the helicopter conscious.

A combat soldier from the Kedem Battalion accompanied them throughout the rescue operation and provided first aid to prevent a stress reaction.

When rescuing another soldier who was trapped under the helicopter, the battalion engineer had to determine the rescue method and use the heavy equipment for a precise rescue.

Lieutenant Orel Demoz, who was involved in the rescue effort, reported how quickly he and his soldiers were on the scene. “In all the missions we are called to, we think about the injured,” he said, adding that by being called to such missions, the troops become sharper and “understand that we have to do our job in the most professional manner.”

Rescue efforts at the site of the helicopter crash in the Gaza Strip. (Source: via walla!)

When the rescue team arrived, Demoz said, they conducted a situation assessment with the Givati ​​commander on the scene.

“We started work to free the pilot trapped in the helicopter, knowing the complexity of the rescue. We proceeded with sensitivity and using delicate tools,” he said, adding that they “ensured the safety of the trapped pilot and prevented the helicopter from catching fire.”

Regarding the rescue of the soldier trapped under the helicopter, the lieutenant said: “With the help of the engineer of the Kedem Battalion, we lifted the helicopter precisely with heavy equipment, while the rest of our soldiers made sure that there were no further casualties.”

Combat soldier reports on rescue efforts

Corporal Lisa Leonov, a combat soldier from Magen Company, said: “We were called quickly and the entire team was alert and ready. On the way to the scene of the accident, they mentally prepared us for the fact that we were entering a complex event and would be exposed to difficult sights.”

“In every rescue team there is a soldier who is responsible for contact with the trapped people and I knew that this was my mission this time,” she said.

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“I immediately approached the trapped pilot, introduced myself and began communicating with her and performing a procedure aimed at reducing trauma in a complex event,” she noted.

She spoke of the bravery of the pilot, who “remained conscious while the soldiers on the team rescued her. I realized she was having trouble speaking, so I focused on questions that had a yes/no answer.”

“From the moment you get the call, you turn off your emotions and focus on doing your job as best as you can, staying calm and conveying that everything is OK. When I saw her, I knew I would do whatever I could to help her physically and mentally.”

Two soldiers were killed in the helicopter crash and seven were injured to varying degrees.

The incident occurred at 12:23 a.m. when a Black Hawk helicopter made an awkward landing while attempting to rescue a wounded soldier. The crash is believed to have been the result of human error and not enemy fire. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The evacuation of the injured ended around 2:00 a.m. All injured were evacuated to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

This is the first operational accident of a helicopter of this type. Following the incident, the commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, convened a military commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances of the incident, and the Israel Defense Forces stated that there had been no changes in the operational activities of the air force.



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