Israeli rescue team heads to Addis Ababa to locate remains of passengers
Flight ET 302 crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa.
By HAGAY HACOHEN, ILANIT CHERNICKWorkers service an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane at the Bole International Airport in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, January 26, 2017(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israeli Rescue Team ZAKA has departed to Ethiopia to locate the remains of the two Israeli passengers who were among the 157 victims of the plane crash in Ethiopia on Sunday, as well as help local authorities comb through the wreckage for bodies and help with clean-up efforts.Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302, which was heading to Nairobi in Kenya, crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa.ZAKA volunteers leaving to Ethiopia (Credit: ZAKA)The ZAKA International Rescue Team delegation is composed of two teams – one from South Africa and another from Israel. The Israeli team departed to Ethiopia on Sunday night.Their goal is to locate and identify the Israeli victims, collect their remains according to the Jewish law, and ensure a full Jewish burial, ZAKA said in a press release.ZAKA South Africa said in a statement late on Sunday night that it was sending a team at "the request of the ZAKA International Unit.""We deployed a team of four volunteers to assist with assisting in the recovery of victims of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash earlier today," it said. "Our team will join the delegation from Israel, as well as Chabad Ethiopia, and the local authorities to bring peace to the victims of this tragic incident.
"We thank the support team on the ground here in Johannesburg who assisted in ensuring this could happen, and we salute the families of our volunteers for sharing their loved ones with the world," ZAKA South Africa added.
