Jerusalem, 19 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — An 89-year-old woman in Ashdod was rescued Saturday after spending hours trapped inside an underground garbage container about 10 feet deep.
The woman had left her home that morning, as she regularly did, to feed stray cats. When she failed to return and her family could not reach her, they reported her missing, prompting an extensive search by police and United Hatzalah volunteers.
After several hours, volunteers located her inside the buried container. According to an initial account, the woman had spotted a cat that had fallen into the container and apparently tried to rescue it, only to fall in herself. Because of the container’s depth, her cries for help could not be heard from outside.
Rescuers lowered her water and reassured her until firefighters arrived and pulled her out. She was taken to a hospital, suffering from exhaustion and mild dehydration.