[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

The body of the third person who went missing in the Kinneret on Chol Hamoed Pesach, Itamar Ochana z”l, 19, was recovered later on Tuesday, 22 Nissan and positively identified. The bodies of the other two, Kiron Karadi z”l, 17, and Nachman Itach z”l, 21, were found earlier and they were buried on Tuesday.

The levaya for Ochana was announced for Wednesday,

Zaka provided divers and other specialized units, which played a major role in the search which began on the second day of Chol Hamoed Pesach and continue through the last day of yomtov.

The three young men were swept away by strong winds while lounging on air mattresses on the Kineret. Dozens of Zaka volunteers from the Divers Unit and the Sapir Jet Ski unit were enlisted to assist in the search, working in full cooperation and coordination with the police and other emergency services.

Zaka also set up its own command center at the shores of the lake, at Ein Gev, which coordinated and directed the activities of dozens of volunteer divers and jet-ski units. According to Haim Weingarten, the commander of Zaka’s special units, “All the divers are professionals, who volunteer and train regularly with Zaka for this type of emergency. Sadly, we have much experience in similar situations.”

On Sunday, 20 Nissan, a naval crew with state-of-the-art sonar equipment was called into the scene and, on the following day – day 6 of the search – two of the three bodies were located and finally recovered. At the end of Pesach, Zaka North volunteers were called to the sea police command center to deal with the two bodies, identified as Nachman Itach, 21 and Liron Karadi, 17. Following the final identification of the bodies, Zaka ambulances brought the two bodies to their homes in Jerusalem and Netanya.

It was not until Tuesday, a week after the men went missing, that the third body was located and retrieved from the depths of the Kinneret. Zaka North volunteers were again called in to deal with the body, identified as Itamar Ochana, and transport the deceased to Kiryat Shmona.

Summarizing the week, Zaka commander special units Haim Weingarten noted “With the locating of the third body, we stopped searching after six intensive days and nights, with countless dives, jet ski and drone searches. More than 130 ZAKA volunteers participated in the search.”

Zaka North Commander Anshel Friedman: “The Zaka volunteers carried out their sacred work in the most professional manner, working alongside the Sea Police and all the other search and rescue forces. During the search, the Chief of Police Roni Alsheich came to the area and asked to send his esteem and appreciation to all the volunteers participating in the search.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Zaka)