Jerusalem (CNN) Nine teenagers have died and one is missing from an organized trip after flash floods swept across Israel and the West Bank on Thursday afternoon, according to Israeli emergency response services. The Israeli teenagers were on a group hike in the Tzafit Valley near the southern Dead Sea when severe storms hit the area, causing flash floods. The youths were students at the Bnei Zion pre-military academy in central Israel. Eight girls and one boy were among the dead, according to Magen David Adom of the Israeli emergency response service. More than a dozen other members of the group were rescued as the Israeli military and emergency responders launched massive efforts to find them in southern Israel.

Source: CNN April 26, 2018 19:28 UTC