The advance team from Israel’s Joint Disaster Response Team (made up from the Zaka, Ichud (United) Hatzalah and F.I.R.S.T volunteer organizations), which arrived in Kathmandu Monday, today (Tuesday) rescued ten Israelis stranded in the Kopan Monastery just outside the capital. Using jeeps from the local Chabad House, the team found them to be in good health, but traumatized. On the journey back to Chabad House, where they await a flight back to Israel, the travelers made contact with their worried families.

In this video, one of the Israeli travelers expresses her thanks, on behalf of the group.

“Thank you for coming to rescue us! We are fine… At the moment , we have everything we need. We just want to know how we will get home, on which flight and when. Thank you for coming.”

The Joint Disaster Response Team is working in full cooperation with the Israel Embassy in Kathmandu and with the Nepalese army in order to offer assistance to the local population and Israeli tourists.

Zaka International Rescue Unit head Mati Goldstein stated, “The scale of the disaster here is huge, entire streets have collapsed and there are many injured. Our first mission is to rescue those Israelis who have yet to make contact with their families. We are concentrating on this, while at the same time we aim to assist in those outlying villages where no rescue team has reached. We have connected with the local army, which gives us the possibility to reach every place and operate there. Our joint response team of ZAKA, United Hatzalah and F.I.R.S.T. is able to contribute significantly to the Nepalese army’s search and rescue mission, thanks to our professional expertise and experience gained in other mass casualty natural disasters in the region.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)