Last update - 00:00 24/12/2006
One of Israelis rescued in Chile: Our food was running out
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
One of the three rescued Israeli backpackers who went missing last week in a Chilean national park said Monday that they had lost their way in snow and fog, and only had about 4-5 days of meager food rations left at the time that they were found.
Feared dead, the three were found Sunday by a rescue team operated by the Harel insurance company.
Gal Eden, Lior Rosen, and Nimrod Vered had been traveling in the Puyehue National Park in southern Chile for ten days. Park authorities informed the Israeli embassy Thursday that no contact had been made with the backpakers in several days, and that the park's rescue team had begun searching for them.
On Saturday they were joined by the Israeli rescue team, along with soldiers and helicopters from Chile's army. The search was hampered by difficult weather conditions.
Rosen told Israel Radio on Monday that they had carefully rationed out their food, after snow covered the paths they had used to navigate then park.
She said they "didn't think rescuers would send out helicopters with such fog so we followed a creek that led in the direction of the road... and left marks on the way."
"After a few more days we figured that rescuers are looking for us and we worried for our parents, but again, we didn't think air rescue would be sent out in such weather conditions and that they would only search for us on foot. And [on Sunday] was the first time they sent a helicopter to search for us," she said.
In relation to their survival with no knowledge of how rescue efforts were progressing, Rosen said "Once we realized we were lost, we portioned the food by days. We ate every day - not much - but every day. In my estimate, the food would have sufficed for four or five more days. I'm talking here about a row of chocolate squares or a cup of dry pasta, but we wouldn't have starved."
The three were located by a helicopter pilot from the Israeli rescue team. The pilot reported that he had identified the three near a tent, and said they appeared to be in good condition and waved at him.