ZAKA Works to Repatriate Bodies of Israelis Killed in Two U.S. Tragedies

ZAKA’s international unit spent Monday handling two separate fatal incidents in the United States involving Israelis. The bodies of two Israelis killed in a car crash near Malibu, Los Angeles, have been cleared for transfer to Israel, while efforts continue to secure the release of three Israelis killed in a light plane crash in Maryland.

The two men killed in the Malibu self-inflicted crash were both about 40 years old. After intensive work by Yossi Landau, ZAKA’s Lachish-area operations chief and a member of the international unit, together with Israel’s Foreign Ministry and U.S. authorities, the release procedures were completed. Their coffins are expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, and they will be buried in Yavne and Ramla.

Separately, ZAKA is still working to repatriate the bodies of three Israelis killed when a Piper PA-28 crashed in Prince George’s County, Maryland, less than 30 kilometers east of Washington. Initial assessments say the aircraft took off from Ocean City in New Jersey and was headed to Montgomery County, Maryland, when it crashed for reasons that remain unclear.

Fire, rescue, and police teams searched through the dark for nearly four hours before finding the wreckage at 3:45 a.m. The plane went down in a wooded area very close to homes and a local playground, and the pilot and two passengers were the only people aboard. ZAKA is coordinating with the Foreign Ministry, local authorities, and the organization Metaskim to finish the release process; according to the report, two of the dead are expected to be buried in Israel and one in Toronto, Canada. ZAKA operations deputy chief Chaim Weingarten said the unit is working in several difficult scenes worldwide and is trying to complete the transfers so families can bury their loved ones with dignity and as quickly as possible.