2 Bathers Drown as Lifeguards Strike

Two bathers have drowned and one disappeared on Israel’s Mediterranean beaches during a seven-day walkout by lifeguards protesting stalled wage negotiations, a television report said. Sunshine has drawn bathers in full force, despite unusually strong undertows and the absence of lifeguards. In the southern city of Ashkelon, two bathers drowned, one after saving his son from the strong currents, Channel Two TV said. In the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, rescuers were searching for a 28-year-old man. Another bather was in critical condition after friends pulled him out of the water. All but one of the incidents happened on public beaches usually patrolled by the country’s 210 lifeguards, the report said.