Teenager Survives Near-Choking Incident During Aerial Acrobatics Class

A 17-year-old girl from the Jerusalem area narrowly escaped tragedy during an aerial acrobatics class when a fabric strap became wrapped around her neck, leaving her unconscious and hanging in mid-air. The incident occurred as she was practicing on silks, a long fabric strip hanging from the ceiling. After deciding to skip a drop-split trick, she attempted to untangle herself, but a loop remained around her neck and began tightening, cutting off her air supply.

Rescue Efforts and Hospitalization

The instructor noticed the dangerous situation from below and attempted to guide her, subsequently asking another student to climb onto her shoulders to reach the victim, but those efforts failed as the teenager lost consciousness and her grip gave way. Once the instructor finally managed to reach and release the teenager, she brought her down to a mat and performed resuscitation with instructions from Magen David Adom paramedics until breathing resumed.

Emergency teams rushed to the scene and evacuated the victim in serious condition to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, where she was sedated and ventilated in the pediatric intensive care unit for 24 hours. Dr. Asaf Mendel, a senior physician in the pediatric ICU, noted that brain scans and examinations ruled out neurological damage or spinal fractures. Following two days of observation, the teenager was discharged in excellent condition and is already looking forward to returning to her training.