Search team finds body suspected of being Israeli missing in Peru rafting accident
Authorities are transferring the body for forensic identification in order to definitively determine whether it is the missing Israeli tourist.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPeople rafting in a river (illustrated photo)(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
A helicopter search-and-rescue team on Saturday found the body of the last Israeli tourist who went missing in Peru after a rafting accident on Monday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed.The man’s body was found in the Apurimac River and was transferred to Cusco for positive identification.It will be flown to Israel along with the body of a woman who also went missing in the accident, that was found on the river bank on Friday by an insurance company’s helicopter search-and-rescue team.The rafting accident occurred on October 6 in the Apurimac River. Six other Israelis on the raft found their way to safety.According to the Foreign Ministry, a local guide on the raft reported the accident, and local search teams – augmented by a team sent by an insurance company – were searching the river banks for the missing Israelis. Their families have been notified.The Israeli consul general in Lima, Amir Cohen, as well as embassy staff and officials from the consular section in Jerusalem, were in constant contact with local authorities and the search teams. They are making arrangements for shipping the victims’ bodies home to Israel.Peru is a popular spot for post-army Israel backpackers, with white-water rafting on the scenic river in southern Peru a popular attraction for young Israelis.Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
