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Itongadol.- The Israeli consul in Peru is investigating the fate of Israeli tourists who disappeared in a rafting accident on the country\’s Apurimac River.
A popular tourist site, the river is located in the southern mountain rangesof the country and feeds the Amazon River; it also includes many falls and rapids in narrows gorges 3,000 meters (nearly 2 miles) deep – twice the depth of the Grand Canyon.
Israel\’s Foreign Ministry stated that an investigation revealed several of the Israeli tourists were rescued, while the fate of several others remains unknown.
Family members of most of the tourists have been contacted by the ministry, it reports, noting that the river has claimed Israeli lives in the past.
A spokesperson in the ministry was quoted by Walla! as saying efforts are underway to deal with the issue, both from in Israel and in conjunction with the local authorities in the Peruvian capital of Lima.
It remains unclear how many Israelis are thought to be involved in the rafting accident.
This is not the first case in which Israelis went missing in the Peruvianriver. Two years ago a young Israeli woman was killed in a rafting crash near Cusco, a city close to the Apurimac.
After her boat capsized, the woman was lost from sight, until being found drowned at a tree trunk. Her four companions who were with her on the ill-fated ride survived, as did their guide.
Likewise in 2008 Tomer Ahwan of Rishon Letzion was found dead in the region, after being thrown off course in a Peruvian river while travelling with his friends.
Ahwan\’s boat tipped over; his body was only found two months after theaccident.