Israeli hikers injured in Nepal blizzard return home
'I'm hoping to wake up and find out it never happened,' says Shira Lasri; 'I was buried in the snow for 16 hours until I was rescued. The snow probably protected me,' says Roey Patael.
Seven of the Israeli hikers who were injured in the blizzards that hit the Annapurna Mountain Range in Nepal landed at Ben Gurion Airport overnight Saturday.
They were taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem and Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer for further treatment.
Shira Lasri, one of the Israelis injured, lost her friend Nadav Shoham. "A miracle happened to me," she told reporters at the airport. "My friend who was with me, Nadav Shoham, was killed. Another friend was injured, but thank God I'm alright."
The road to recovery for Shira and her friends is still a long one. "I'm in shock and I'm hoping to wake up and find out it never happened. We were supposed to return to Israel today, that was the original plan. The Nepali army evacuated the injured and we as Israelis took care of each other. We took wet clothes off people and dressed them (in dry clothes). It's a good thing we're Israeli, otherwise it could've been worse."
The Deputy Director of the Ayalon District in Magen David Adom, Lior Atlman, was on hand for the evacuation of the Nepal injured to hospitals.
"We received injured who were fully conscious, most of them suffering from frostbites in different degrees of severity and in different parts of the body," he said. "They have been cooperating, and we could see they've been through a difficult time - both mentally and physically."
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Among the injured were also Eitan Idan and Mor Sapir, who were happy to come back to Israel.
"Thank you to everyone who helped us get here as soon as possible so we could get medical treatment as soon as possible," Eitan Idan said. "I was there for a month, and Mor for two and a half weeks, and it seemed like a year. We really missed Israel."
Eitan also wanted to thank the rescue team in Nepal and the Israeli Embassy that helped them. "There are a lot more guys there who are together and we hope they come back as fast as possible because they need the support from Israel."
His friend, Mor Sapir, added, "We're suffering from frostbites to our legs, but we're strong in our hearts. The entire world is shocked of the show of support in Israel. Some Nepali told me she admired our country for sending forces to aid us."
Roey Patael from Jerusalem wanted to thank the businessman who donated the money for the plane that took the injured home, the Nepali search and rescue teams, the Israeli Embassy, the Tevel b'Tzedek (The Earth in Justice) NGO and the Chabad House in Kathmandu. "We're happy to have made it home and we hope to recover as quickly as possible," Patael said.
"I was injured in my limbs due to a pretty serious frostbite. I was out in the field for two nights and in one of them I was buried in the snow for 16 hours until I was rescued. The snow probably protected me. On the second night I had three sleeping bags to keep me warm," he went on to say.
Patael also wanted to thank two of his friends, Koby and Ron, medical students at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem. "They saved my life and pulled me out of the snow and called for help. Then I was taken in a helicopter to a hospital."
The head of the department of general surgery and trauma unit of Hadassah Medical Center, Prof. Avi Rivkind, said the hikers' condition at the moment is no indication of what's to come.
"They're entering a long struggle. They're not in an easy place, mentally, they've been through trauma," Prof. Rivkind said.
Twenty-two Israelis are still considered "out of contact" - meaning they've yet to contact their relatives in Israel.
The body of Nadav Shoham, who was killed in the disaster, has already arrived in Israel. The bodies of the other two Israeli casualties, Tamar Ariel and Agam Luria, were expected to arrive in Israel at the beginning of next week.
