Israeli Woman Missing After Flash Flood Disaster Near Tibet Border

An Israeli citizen, Katerina (Katya) Sakovitch, 41, has been missing since August 26 following a flash flood disaster on the Nepal-Tibet border. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Israel's consul in Kathmandu and the department for Israelis in distress are in constant contact with her family and coordinating with local authorities. Sakovitch, who holds both Israeli and Belarusian citizenship and resides in Milan, was in Nepal as part of a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. She was last seen near the Rasuwagadhi-Jirong border crossing, close to where the mudflow occurred. Because she is registered with Nepalese authorities only as a Belarusian citizen, her family approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem for assistance in coordinating with Nepal, China, and Belarus. Her sister is scheduled to travel to Nepal on Tuesday to join the search efforts, and a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to cover expenses. In parallel with official efforts, the family is utilizing facial recognition technology from an Indian company to scan security cameras in the area. Sakovitch is the second Israeli to go missing in the region; another Israeli man in his sixties, last seen on the morning of the disaster crossing from Tibet into Nepal, is also unaccounted for.