As Israel mourns three lost in Nepal, fears grow for fourth victim
Michal Gili Charkesky from Giv'atayim named as fourth Israeli still missing; rescue attempts continue in race against time due to foul weather.
After two days of search and rescue attempts, the Israeli death toll from the blizzards and avalanches that battered the Himalayas in central Nepal is currently at three.
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem reported that it was unable to establish contact with 130 Israelis staying in huts alongside the route. The Israelis reportedly managed to contact Nepali authorities, but their condition was not verified by the Israeli embassy.
The fourth Israeli listed as missing is Michal Gili Charkesky (36) from Giv'atayim.
The rescue operations on the ground were terminated at sundown, and will be renewed with daylight. Meanwhile, concern is growing over another storm that is expected to hit the area within the next 24 hours.
Lior Koren, Charkesky's brother, said that she had traveled to Nepal on her own, and that she joined other Israeli trekkers for the hike. "We are in a state of complete uncertainty and no one has any new information for us. We are waiting to receive any snippet of information. Due to the weather conditions, her group split up. Some climbed up while others hiked down the trail – all traces of her were then lost.
"We have almost no evidence of her from the field, apart from some girls who said they saw her at the Annapurna Circuit, one stop before the 'pass', which is where the avalanche occurred," Lior said.
The three Israelis killed in the storm are Tamar Ariel (25), an Israeli Air Force navigator from Masu'ot Yitzhak in southern Israel, Agam Luria (25) from Kibbutz Yifat in the Galilee and Nadav Shoham from Hoshaya, a community in northern Israel.
Relatives of Nadav Shoham, the third Israeli trekker killed in the storm, said: "Nadav, who was 30-years-old, was born and raised in Hoshaya, He was a good boy who went on his trip two weeks ago, and was supposed to come back next week. He was in contact with his parents until about five days ago. He is the third of four sons."
Nadav graduated from a yeshiva high school in Tiberias. After finishing his army service, he studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, where his father works as a professor of robotics.
Rescue operations
Other Israeli trekkers were injured in the avalanche, 12 of which who were evacuated to a military hospital in Kathmandu. Israel is preparing to fly the wounded back to the country, and two Magen David Adom officials were sent to Nepal ahead of the operation in order to assess the condition of Israelis in the area.
Oliver Eliezer, the head of the Harel 669 rescue unit said that the teams were on a tight schedule due to the coming storm. "We have to finish this mission as soon as possible, before the weather gets in our way and forces us to wait," he said.
The Israeli rescue teams departed for Nepal earlier Thursday and are expected to land tomorrow night. "The team consists of people who have experience, and we are also assisted by local teams, consular representatives, Chabad and anyone who can help us," Eliezer added.
Search teams rescued dozens of stranded foreign trekkers and recovered 10 more bodies Thursday in the wake of a series of blizzards and avalanches that battered the Himalayas in central Nepal, leaving at least 27 people dead.
About 70 people were still missing along or near the popular Annapurna trail, said Ganga Sagar Pant of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, and the death toll there was expected to rise.
The route, 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Katmandu, was filled with foreign hikers during the peak October trekking season, when the air is generally clear and cool. There were also many Nepalese on the trails because of local festivals.
Government administrator Yama Bahadur Chokhyal said rescuers recovered 10 more bodies from the Thorong La pass area, where they had been caught in a sudden blizzard Tuesday.
Chabad House in Kathmandu
Meanwhile, dozens of Israeli backpackers have been staying at the Chabad House in Kathmandu to keep informed on the rescue operations.
The Chabad shaliachs (envoys) in Nepal, Rabbi Chezki and Chani Lifshitz, are constantly updating the list of Israeli backpackers in the country, and helping them to get in touch with their families in Israel.
"We receive people arriving from the Annapurna reserve all the time," says Rabbi Lifshitz.
"Some Israelis are in the military hospital, and some who did not need treatment are here to help us and update the lists. At the same time, there are Israelis continually coming down from the mountain either under their own steam or via Nepalese army helicopter."
Chani Lifshitz adds that during the Sukkot holiday that ended Thursday, Chabad representatives went to the military hospital to feed Israeli backpackers and provide them with warm clothing.
"There are still hikers who have not made contact," she says. "The helicopters cannot rescue everyone because of the weather conditions, so it will take time for everyone to get here. We are hoping to have good news."
Attila Somfalvi, Gilad Morag, Shahar Hay and AP contributed to this report.
