Wildfire traps 100 Israeli teens in Judean Desert

Israeli authorities were working on Sunday afternoon to rescue around 100 teenagers who were trapped in the Ein Prat Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert after a fire broke out on a popular hiking trail.

“Firefighters from the Binyamin Regional Station are currently working on a fire in Nahal Prat,” the Israel Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement. “According to reports, many hikers remain in the stream, and it is difficult to rescue them. In addition, there is a topographical challenge, making it difficult to reach the center of the blaze.”

Nahal Prat is also known as Wadi Qelt.

The effort to rescue the trapped teens includes officers of the Fire and Rescue Services’ Lehava National Special Rescue Unit, as well as Israel Police aerial assistance, the statement noted.

The group of some 100 Orthodox teenagers is hiking in the area as part of a school trip.

The Magen David Adom emergency medical response group said it received a report “regarding a fire in Wadi Qelt, between the village of Kfar Adumim and Alon.

“At this stage, there are no casualties,” the NGO said. “Medics near the fire location are securing the firefighting operations and reporting on hikers present at the scene, who are being evacuated in stages.”

Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, whose jurisdiction includes Nahal Prat, was called away from the inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem to assist in the rescue effort.