By Stan Goodenough
Aug 05, 2007
Religious and secular rescue workers reportedly danced on the beach of the Dead Sea in the early hours of Friday morning to express their thanks to God after a Jewish boy feared drowned was found safe and sound.
According to a report on Israel National News, eight-year-old Schneur Zalman Friedman had gone missing after taking a dip with some members of his orthodox family on Thursday afternoon.
Helicopters and light aircraft spent the next five hours or so scanning the sea for the boy as darkness fell. Flares were used in the effort in which police, soldiers and emergency aid workers too part.
At close to midnight, Friedman was found bobbing in the water about a mile-and-a-half from where he had entered the sea. Famous for the way it keeps people afloat due to its extremely high mineral content, the Dead Sea had kept the child from drowning when strong winds that often blow up in the late afternoon pushed him out to sea.
Although exhausted, the boy was said to be in good shape.
He told his rescuers he had been reciting Psalms and contemplating swimming to the distant mountains.
He said he had known not to put his head under the saturated water which can severely burn the eyes and mouth, and may prove fatal if swallowed.