Father, comrades of missing Israeli hiker fly to Nepal to assist search
Or Asraf is now only Israeli national unaccounted for following devastating quake; IDF field hospital marks first day of operations with birth.
The father of missing Israeli trekker Or Asraf flew out early Thursday to Nepal to help search for him, along with some of his IDF colleagues from the Egoz comabt unit. Asraf is the only Israeli who has not made contact since Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake five days ago, claiming the lives of at least more than 5,500 people.
Rescuers were to try Thursday to reach a group of 20 Israelis by helicopter, Army Radio reported. The group has been stranded on a mountainside in the Himalyas since the quake struck.
Israel's ambassador to Nepal, Yaron Meir, told Army Radio on Thursday morning that there is no concrete information on the whereabouts of Or Asraf.
"We are waiting for contact," Meir said. "We know that he was in the Langtang area, which is a very large area... He could have left (the area), he could be in the area, we have no information. But there is also room for concern."
Or's mother, Orit, had waited at Ben-Gurion Airport for the Israelis returning from Nepal, carrying with a sign asking for information about her son.
Meanwhile, the field hospital set up in Kathmandu by the 260-strong IDF search and rescue team that flew out to Nepal on Sunday marked its first day of operations Wednesday with the delivery of a baby boy.
The 1st baby boy was born in our field hospital this afternoon. Baby is healthy & undergoing care, mom is in recovery pic.twitter.com/RkxMKzZQ8U
— IDF Rescue (@IDFrescue) April 29, 2015
Among those assisting at the hospital are two Israelis who had been rescued themselves after the earthquake. Omer Kirshner of Jerusalem and Yael Lubin of Shoham were located Tuesday afternoon after spending four days in Pokhara. Upon arriving in Kathmandu, the two decided to volunteer at the hospital.
Kirshner served in the search-and-rescue unit of the IDF's Home Front Command and decided to join the rescue effort, while Lubin has been slated to assist in the orthopedic department.
"The earthquake hit everything in Nepal," said Kirshner. "I served in the rescue unit and I'm here. So why not help?"
Teen rescue
After days of searching through the rubble, rescuers in Kathmandu scored an encouraging victory Thursday, pulling a 15-year-old boy out alive from the collapsed ruins of the city's Hilton Hotel.
Pema Lama was extracted by Nepal's Armed Police Force and carried on a stretcher and in a neck brace to a waiting ambulance. A large crowd broke into applause when people saw that the teenager was alive.
Lama was conscious, held the hand of one of his rescuers and looked towards a large group of photographers and television news crews as he was brought to safety, a Reuters photographer at the scene said.
The rescuer, Nepali police official L.B. Basnet, told reporters the boy had spoken to him in the rubble and asked for water.
Members of the security forces hoisted Basnet onto their shoulders to more cheers from the crowd.
Several bodies were also found in the rubble of the hotel on Thursday, where heavy rain earlier in the day had hampered rescue efforts.
