Nepal Sources Say 6 Israelis Killed in Himalayas Avalanche

Sources in Nepal said Friday that six Israelis were killed in Wednesday morning’s avalanche that already is known to have claimed the lives of three Israelis , with a fourth missing and feared dead.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it is not relying on foreign sources but has no information that confirm or deny the report but said that 12 Israelis have been rescued and are being treated in an American hospital in Katmandu for hypothermia.

As reported here Thursday night, Tamar Ariel, the first religious women to become an Israeli Air Force navigator, Nadav Shoham and Agam Luria were killed in the blizzard that also claimed the lives of at least 26 others. The death toll is almost certain to grow.

Rescuers on ground and from the air have rescued more than 250 trekkers from the Himalayas and nearby regions that have suffered the onslaught of heavy snow and rain in an unseasonal cyclone.

Helicopters leading the rescue effort ceased to fly Thursday night because of poor weather conditions but were to resume Friday morning.

Israeli hiker Linor Kajan was quoted by wire services as saying, "I was sure I was going to die on the way to the pass because I lost my group, I lost all the people I was with and I could not see anything. One Nepalese guide who knows the way saw me and asked me to stay with him. And he dragged me, really dragged me to the tea shop. And everybody there was really frightened.”