Israel Seeks Missing Citizen in Nepal Flood Disaster

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that Katerina (Katya) Sakovitz, a 41-year-old dual Israeli-Belarusian citizen residing in Milan, is missing since August 26 following a flash flood disaster on the Nepal-China border. Sakovitz was in Nepal as part of a trek to Mount Kailash in Tibet and was last seen near the Rasuwagadhi-Jirong border crossing around the time of the mudslide. Her family stated that Nepalese records list her only as a Belarusian citizen, prompting them to contact the Israeli Foreign Ministry for assistance in coordinating search efforts with Nepalese, Chinese, and Belarusian authorities. Her sister is scheduled to travel to Nepal to aid in the search, and the family has launched a fundraising campaign to cover expenses. The Israeli Consulate in Kathmandu and the Department for Israelis Abroad are in constant contact with the family and collaborating with local officials. The family is also utilizing facial recognition technology from an Indian company to track Sakovitz's movements via area cameras. Separately, another Israeli man in his sixties, last seen crossing the border from Tibet to Nepal on the morning of the disaster, remains missing in the same region. Search operations for both individuals are ongoing.