A second Israeli citizen has been reported missing following the devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The missing woman, Katerina Zakovic, 41, also holds Belarusian citizenship and does not live in Israel. Until now, she had been listed among the missing as a Belarusian national.
Katerina Zakovic
(Photo: Israel Police)
The Foreign Ministry said Israel’s consul in Kathmandu and its department for Israelis in distress abroad are in continuous contact with Zakovic’s family and are working with local authorities and other officials to locate her.
Another Israeli, a 60-year-old man, is also among those still missing. He is believed to have been traveling with an organized group called Isha Sacred Walks on a journey to Mount Kailash through Tibet, where participants were taking part in a Buddhist pilgrimage ritual. Searches for him are continuing.
Authorities in Nepal reported Monday a sharp rise in the number of people missing, from 2,502 a day earlier to 4,247. The death toll there also rose from 781 to 903.
On the Chinese side of the border, authorities in Tibet have reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing, bringing the total number of missing people across the two regions to 4,793.
Authorities on both sides of the border say hundreds of foreign nationals are among the missing, including more than 100 Indians and large numbers of tourists from the United States, Britain, Australia and dozens of other countries.
Many of the foreign visitors are members of the Indian diaspora who had traveled to the region on pilgrimages to holy sites.
Nepal said Monday afternoon that 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries were currently listed as missing in the country, while 323 foreigners had been rescued.