Shira Dabush, Omer Shemsh named as Israeli casualties of Nepal crash
30-year-old Shira and 21-year-old Omer were travelling east Asia with their boyfriends when their tour bus veered off the road; 2 other Israelis evacuated to Kathmandu.
The pair was travelling in east Asia with their respective boyfriends. The tour bus – traveling from Kathmandu to the Langtang national park – overturned, came off the road, and plunged at least 200 meters into a ravine below.
"Shira loved Israel and travelled often," said her family. "She was beloved by her many friends and acquaintances. She was a humble, loving girl who spread joy and goodwill to no end. She was the only daughter of Esther Dabush – she was her entire world."
Shira was a young doctor who had recently finished her internship at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula. The hospital noted that she was expected to visit in the coming days for a graduation celebration and to receive her honors diploma.
"She also finished her medical studies at Be'er Sheva University with honors," said the family. "She wanted to start her residency in family medicine with Clalit healthcare. Shira was also a talented musician who played the piano and the accordion and had a wonderful voice."
Before hearing of his girlfriend's death, Omer's partner Eyal Ankor – who was considered missing for several hours – spoke to Ynet about the deadly accident. "We were on a local bus with 30 inside and 30 more on top. After a few hours I was half-asleep when all of a sudden the bus overturned and fell into the ravine."
"I heard there were six dead, please tell me it wasn't Omer," he told Ynet, before being informed of her passing.
Shira's boyfriend, Yigal Shrivker, was also injured in the accident. His brother said he was "lightly injured, he broke his hand, and is being treated at the hospital right now. He suffered a deep trauma and was forced to identify the body. He witnessed horrific sights."
The Israeli rescuer Nadav Ben-Yehuda, who arrived in Nepal to aid in the search for the Israeli casualties of the Annapurna snow storm, also helped the emergency efforts in the accident.
He said that "in the morning Rabbi Hezki Lifshitz, of the Chabad house in Kathmandu, contacted me, and afterwards I received a call from the Israeli embassy in Nepal. They briefed me on the event and the location of the incident. We quickly deployed on the helicopter and after an aerial search went to the crushed bus by foot."
Ben-Yehuda said military and police forces were present at the scene and helped identify the casualties inside and outside the vehicle. "We later rescued two more Israelis in the area, and flew them to the hospital in Kathmandu, where they are being treated under the watch of the embassy."
He added: "One missing Israel who we could not locate was found alive in one of the hospitals after being evacuated by security forces before being identified."
The accident claimed the lives of 14 people and left more than 50 injured. An initial investigation indicates that the bus flipped over because it had been packed with too many people. A number of people were also sitting on the roof of the vehicle when it came off the road.
The accident comes a week after four Israelis were among dozens of hikers killed in a freak storm on the Annapurna trek in Nepal.
Ahiya Raved and Itay Blumenthal contributed to this report.
