Tragedy at Ashdod - Former Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan drowned

Former Chief of Staff and Government minister Rafael (Raful) Eitan was found dead last Tuesday in the waters of the Port of Ashdod.

Eitan's vehicle was near the scene; he was apparently touring the site of the Ashdod Jubilee Port as part of his duties as project head. Eitan was employed by "Ashtrom Dragdos" the main contractor for the building of Ashdod Jubilee Port.
 
On Monday night, there were warnings of six-meter waves. By the morning of the accident, waves were measured at eight meters high. Two days prior the accident at the pier extension, Eitan ordered the removal of some of the equipment used in the construction in anticipation of the coming storm. Workers were also told not to come to work.
 
A committee set up to investigate the death of Rafael Eitan at the Ashdod port on Tuesday presented Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit with its interim conclusions on thursday. The committee, comprising officials from the Ports Authority, has so far determined that Eitan was at fault in the accident.
 
According to the investigation, Eitan managed to drive several hundred meters along the new pier, well aware of the danger he was facing. "Eitan's decision to move along the pier, despite his decision to stop the work... cost him his life," the committee concluded.
 
Eitan was born in 1929 at Moshav Tel Adashim in the Yezre'el Valley. A graduate of the National Defense College, he served as a paratrooper officer in 1956 Sinai Campaign and the 1967 Six Day War, and was a divisional commander on the Golan Heights in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Rafael Eitan served as Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, and Deputy Prime Minister from June 1996-July 1999.