Tragedy in Sharon: 47-year-old Jacob (Kubi) Mesk was killed today (Thursday) by a lightning strike in a kibbutz in the Emek Hefer Regional Council. He was found unconscious in a farm field with burns on his body, MDA teams who were called to the scene evacuated him to Hillel Yaffe Hospital while performing CPR, in the end he was pronounced dead. He left behind two children and a father who live in the kibbutz. The date of his funeral has not yet been determined.
The Emek Hefer Regional Council and the Anchor Kibbutz said: “A great disaster happened to us tonight. But a heavy burden fell on the Anchor Kibbutz and the entire Emek Hefer. Kobi was born and raised in the kibbutz, a greedy guy, loved by everyone. As the kibbutz’s ornamental director, he worked for years on its cultivation, diligently and persistently. Upon learning of the disaster, the welfare teams and the educational psychological service of the council arrived on the scene, in order to support and help the family during this difficult time. The council and the entire community embraces the family members and friends. May the memory of Kobi Baruch be blessed.”
The friends of the late Mashek shared:
Ofir Inbar: “Kobi and I were childhood friends, we grew up together in the anchor kibbutz, we went through all the experiences in the kibbutz of old, we grew up in the joint exam that was in place at the time and we passed by the strength of the frameworks together. Kobi, an only son, was very active, a central figure and the decorative director. He loved the Hanoy and he was good at it, he fulfilled his role in the best way, gave everything, did everything with joy. We were very close and remain close to this day. My son and his daughter study together. Kobe had a daughter about 15 and a son about 9. It’s a hard tragedy to hear such a thing He always had a dog with him and he went on walks with him. Kobi was a key figure in the kibbutz and this is a big shock.”
Lilach Gal: “It’s a terrible disaster. We’ve been together since the babies’ home; sleeping together and still good friends to this day. Kobi was always a happy man, who liked to take things and do things with a smile. There is no one who didn’t love him. Kobi was a dominant part of the community and an only child. Kobi was a child Teva, who loved ornaments and animals. He loved to walk and smell the citrus fruits. He was a calm, smiling and relaxed person. I only saw him this morning and he was smiling. In one second, everything came to an end. This is a heavy disaster, there is enormous grief in the kibbutz. Everyone loved him, It’s terrible, terrible, terrible.”
MDA paramedics Idan Shina and Omar Pekar said: “The man was brought to us by ATV, they told us that they found him in an agricultural field when he was unconscious. We performed medical tests on him and saw that he was suffering from burns on his body and without a pulse or breathing. We immediately began performing resuscitation operations on him, which included massages, breathing and administering medication, and evacuated him in an intensive care vehicle to the hospital when his condition was critical.”
The unusual event comes at the beginning of a rain system that is expected to accompany us in the coming days. Local rain is expected tonight and tomorrow mainly in the northern coastal plain and isolated thunderstorms are possible there. Tomorrow towards the evening the rain will strengthen and spread to the north of the country and the central coastal plain. There is a slight fear of flooding in the northern coastal plain.
Prof. David Barla, an expert in the field of lightning and the head of the School of Electrical Engineering at Afka, the Academic College of Engineering in Tel Aviv: “Lightning is the result of static electricity created in the clouds and its impact is actually electrocution with a very strong current. The probability of a person being struck by lightning directly in an open area is extremely low, but Not zero. Burn marks indicate that the impact was probably direct to his body. In the case where the lightning current is significant (several thousands of amperes) the impact can be fatal and/or lead to immediate death.”