Ramah Camper Dies During Rafting Trip

An 11th grade camper at Camp Ramah Darom was killed during an accident on a white-water rafting trip.

Andrew Silvershein, of Davie, Fla., died when his raft capsized June 19 on the first day of a trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. Six other campers who had been with Silvershein on the raft made it back to shore safely. Silvershein remained trapped under a rock, under the water’s surface, according to Southern Jewish Life Magazine. A paddle reportedly was used to free him, but CPR efforts failed.

It is the second drowning of a rafter on the Ocoee River this month, according to reports.

A guide rode on each raft and campers wore life preservers and helmets, according to the magazine.

Grief counselors were called to the camp to meet with the campers following the accident. Campers were allowed to call home, and parents had been notified of Silvershein’s death by phone calls and an e-mail prior to the calls.

Silvershein was entering his junior year in high school and played in his school’s marching band. His younger sister was also a camper at Ramah Darom. The funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, the Sun-Sentinel reported. .

The accident occurred during the first week of the camp’s eight-week session.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO