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Over 200 Israelis evacuated from Nepal arrive in Tel Aviv

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

An Israeli airplane carrying 229 Israelis evacuated from Nepal arrived at the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport Tuesday, the airport spokesperson said.

Among the passengers were 15 surrogate-born children including three babies who were born prematurely, the Ynet news website reported.

According to data from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, at the time of Saturday's earthquake there were approximately 600-700 Israeli tourists in Nepal. As of Tuesday, 11 Israelis are still unaccounted for as contacts to reach them failed.

A Foreign Ministry official told Xinhua that those who are not accounted for are not necessarily considered at a risk for their lives, as many hikers arrive at remote places without the ability to keep in touch.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a special meeting over the rescue efforts in Nepal on Tuesday.

"We are focusing on two efforts: our first effort is to locate and rescue Israelis who are in distress in Nepal and enable their safe return," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. "At the same time, we are operating a field hospital to help Nepalese people in their hour of distress."

According to the Foreign Ministry, 338 Israelis have returned to Israel from Nepal so far, some of them evacuated on Monday by an Israeli Air Force.

In recent days, efforts were made by teams from Israeli rescue services (Magen David Adom) and private insurance companies to track down several dozens of hikers in remote locations.

Israel's Ambassador to Nepal Yaron Meir told Israel Radio early Tuesday that two helicopters were searching for over 60 Israeli hikers in recent days in the remote Langtang National Park Reservoir.

Twenty were rescued from a site near Tibet. Another group of 10 Israeli backpackers were rescued near Tibet as well, the Channel 2 news reported.

Israel has been providing both operational and humanitarian assistance to Nepal. It sent a military delegation to offer aid and help bring back Israeli citizens.

On Monday, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) plane carrying 260 Israeli doctors and search and rescue teams headed to Nepal to establish a field hospital in Kathmandu, with four additional Israeli planes expected to arrive throughout Tuesday. Endit