Five injured in mine explosion in North Israel

Feb 6, 2010, 15:44 GMT

Jerusalem - An Israeli family of five, including three children, were injured Saturday in a mine explosion as they were hiking in the Golan Heights, in the border between Syria and Israel, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

An 11-year-old boy was seriously injured in the legs while his 12- year-old sister suffered slight face injuries.

Three other three hikers, members of the same family, also suffered minor injuries. All were immediately evacuated to hospital by helicopter.

The family from central Israel had travelled to the snow-covered Mount Avital in the Golan Heights and entered a mine zone which the IDF said had signs posted warning that it was a military area.

It was initially unclear if the family might not have noticed the warning signs because they were covered by the snow.

The IDF issued a statement regretting the incident and said that Israeli citizens are asked to follow the security instructions when travelling to border areas, where some minefields remain after the 1967 war when Israel captured the area from Syria.

'The IDF asks the public to refrain from entering, for any reason, areas where live fire is engaged, land mines and Palestinian territories,' the IDF said.