The Events Leading to the Tragedy of Guy Peleg

The Events Leading to the Tragedy of Guy PelegIn Memoriam

The Tiger Leaping Gorge

The Tiger Leaping

Gorge is a narrow

canyon in China’s

northern province

of Yunnan, where

the Yangtze river

flows.

During the low winter rainfall, the calm waters turn the riverbed blue.

However in the rainy summer months, the river flows heavily. The

water turns brown from the silt deposits, and its levels rise high.

The rainy season in JulyThe dry season in November

The slideshow entitled “Spot the differences – The Tiger Leaping Gorge” was recently circulated on the Internet.

It was inspired by my tour to China, and compared the river in its summer and winter months.

The rainy season in July

The dry season in November

The statue of the tiger encircled in red, tells the legend of a tiger that leapt to the opposite side of the riverbank,

giving it its name “The Tiger Leaping Gorge”.

The slideshow also featured the trek along the Tiger Leaping Gorge, considered one of the most

beautiful paths in China and in East Asia.

Throughout my journey, and during the preparation of the slideshow, I couldn’t stop thinking about the tragedy of Guy Peleg from Ra’anana,

Israel, who drowned while visiting the exact same region. The picture shows the innocent-looking spot that Guy drowned at.

Gary Peleg, Guy’s father, was one of the people on the mailing list to receive the slideshow. Moved from the images, he felt he needed to share Guy’s tragic story as a warning for others. The events of that stormy day in the Yangtze gorge were recreated with the help of his

travel mates, and with the images captured throughout that incident.

The travelers in a group photo (from right to left): Yulia, Daniel, Amir, and Guy, and the last picture of

Guy before he descended to the river.

The travelers have covered the upper part of this wondrous trek, and descended to the path that leads to the gushy water-surface, where a

column of rocks penetrate the river channel.

Guy jumped onto an inner rock, probably to take a close picture of the river. Patches of paint, and ropes hanging from one of the

rocks, created the impression that the rocks were easily reachable. He soon realized that the steepness of the rock will make it very

hard for him to go back to where he jumped from.

His friends tried to pass him a long board, so he could climb back to the rock from which he jumped, but because of the steepness of the rock, he struggled to stand up properly. He thought that the safest

way out was to head down and cross through the water.

The current was actually stronger than he thought it was, and Guy was swept into the stream. He tried to slow down,

and eventually lodged his feet between the submerged rocks.

His friends immediately called for help and a number of locals responded. The picture shows Guy’s friends, along with a local

man, making their preparations for a rescue.

This is Daniel, one of his friends. He tied himself to a worn-out rope found on location, to pull Guy out of the water.

This is the local man who came over to help. He pleaded with Daniel to leave, as he wanted to carry out the mission all by himself. By using a rope and a wooden rod, he attached himself to one of the rocks in an attempt to reach Guy.

These are the friends of the local man.

About fifteen minutes after the local man entered the water, he lost his hold, slipped, _and was swept into the current.

For ninety minutes, Guy managed to hold on and keep his head above water, until he was overwhelmed by the tide.

Guy’s body was pulled out after six hours by his travel mates and the local police.

The body of the local man was found the following morning downstream.

Coincidentally, in a divine intervention, the funerals of Guy and the local man were -held at the same time, four days after the tragedy.

Guy’s tragedy signifies the frailty of life and shows that a single wrong step can turn a

great joy into a terrible tragedy.

Some words of caution by Gary Peleg, Guy’s father, marking three years since his death:

The great tragedy that struck us is a proof that the “it-won’t-happen-to-me” attitude can have tragic consequences. The world is a beautiful and wondrous place, its nature is breathtaking, and it has its fair share of dangers, intricate topography, and unsteady weather. Yet many travelers carelessly take risks and travel irresponsibly. Their confidence is based on the experiences they had in the army, or on previous journeys they took. We must teach travelers from an early age, that even the very safe can become very dangerous.  Youths who have completed a long and difficult military service, are yearning for freedom, to clear up their minds, to enjoy their lives to the fullest and to push themselves to the edge, so that they’ll have something to tell their friends or take a once-in-a-lifetime picture. The result can lead to a tragedy, leaving us, family and friends, orphans.My message to you all is clear: Don’t stop travelling. Travel to the wide open spaces and explore the world, its wondrous nature, in close and faraway destinations, meet new people and learn about new cultures.

Go out and have fun!

.But please, do that responsibly and safely 

The great tragedy that struck us is a proof that the “it-won’t-happen-to-me” attitude can have tragic consequences. The world is a beautiful and wondrous place, its nature is breathtaking, and it has its fair share of dangers, intricate topography, and unsteady weather. Yet many travelers carelessly take risks and travel irresponsibly. Their confidence is based on the experiences they had in the army, or on previous journeys they took. We must teach travelers from an early age, that even the very safe can become very dangerous.  Youths who have completed a long and difficult military service, are yearning for freedom, to clear up their minds, to enjoy their lives to the fullest and to push themselves to the edge, so that they’ll have something to tell their friends or take a once-in-a-lifetime picture. The result can lead to a tragedy, leaving us, family and friends, orphans.My message to you all is clear: Don’t stop travelling. Travel to the wide open spaces and explore the world, its wondrous nature, in close and faraway destinations, meet new people and learn about new cultures.

Go out and have fun!

But please, do that responsibly and safely. 

Some words from his friends

Guy met his death in the gushy waters of a river in China. Ironically, throughout his life, he was one of those people who never surrendered to the force of current, and always stuck to his principles and his one-of-a-kind personality.  He was always exploring himself and the environment, and was trying to live out his life as honestly as he could. He began his military service by training as a pilot in the air force, the holy grail of Israeli society. He then moved on to an elite unit, where he was offered a promising and long-lasting career. In spite of the prestige involved, he realized that it was not what he wanted, and he almost entirely devoted his time to editing movies for his own pleasure. Following his discharge, he worked in his areas of interests – the arts and creative works. We loved Guy for simply who he was. Above all, he was always true to himself.  Guy liked to fool around and take his friends out to some creative and surreal missions even in the middle of the night. He was willing to play a Jamiroquai song ninety times over, he came up with some creative words for other languages, and he liked to play pranks on passers-by.  All this and more he did only as he could do it, with his humor and personality. If he was set on doing something, he would go for it, no matter how odd, unacceptable or wild it might have been.  When you lose a friend, what really counts is the kind of a person that he was and not just who he was, and Guy was as real as it gets.  

On behalf of all of Guy’s friends

Guy met his death in the gushy waters of a river in China. Ironically, throughout his life, he was one of those people who never surrendered to the force of current, and always stuck to his principles and his one-of-a-kind personality.  He was always exploring himself and the environment, and was trying to live out his life as honestly as he could. He began his military service by training as a pilot in the air force, the holy grail of Israeli society. He then moved on to an elite unit, where he was offered a promising and long-lasting career. In spite of the prestige involved, he realized that it was not what he wanted, and he almost entirely devoted his time to editing movies for his own pleasure. Following his discharge, he worked in his areas of interests – the arts and creative works. We loved Guy for simply who he was. Above all, he was always true to himself.  Guy liked to fool around and take his friends out to some creative and surreal missions even in the middle of the night. He was willing to play a Jamiroquai song ninety times over, he came up with some creative words for other languages, and he liked to play pranks on passers-by.  All this and more he did only as he could do it, with his humor and personality. If he was set on doing something, he would go for it, no matter how odd, unacceptable or wild it might have been.  When you lose a friend, what really counts is the kind of a person that he was and not just who he was, and Guy was as real as it gets.  

On behalf of all of Guy’s friends

Guy’s parents inscribed these words on his gravestone:

A charming child of nature He ventured out to faraway places

With his music, creativity, and artworksHe embraced everyone with love

More than spreading Guy’s story as a warning for others,Gary, his father, is also planning to get closure and visit

the site of the tragedy and meet with the family of the local Chinese man.

November 2008 – May 2009November 2008 – May 2009

Editing of Presentation : Guy Shachar

www.yomansin.commail@guyshachar.com

Translation from Hebrew :Asaf Feldman

Translator and Editorafeldman.translator@gmail.com

Peleg FamilyHa’gdud Ha’ivri 7, Ra’anana 43559 Israel

Home: +972-9-7714449Mobile: +972-52-8340286

Email: topsy@netvision.net.il