A recovery team was expected to arrive Tuesday in the northern India village of Kiriganga, to retrieve the body of Dror Shek, who was murdered there by robbers on Sunday. The terrain did not allow for a helicopter to land.

The body was to be brought to the city of Kasauli, where it will be met by the Israeli consul. Israel's ambassador to India, David Danieli, said the body would reach Mumbai by tomorrow evening, from which it would be flown to Israel by El Al Airlines.

Tuesday marks exactly eight months since Shek, 23, set off on his trip. He was to have returned two weeks from now. His family waited for him impatiently in his room in the community of Givat Avni, west of Tiberias, with presents. Instead, they were informed on Sunday of his murder.

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"After the army we worked for a year to save money for the trip," said Ziv Zigerman, a childhood friend who studied with Shek in the regional Kadourie School.

"We went to India together, and at some point we split up. I came back to Israel three months ago and he kept going. Last week he sent me pictures, he looked like the happiest man in the world. He was relaxed, happy and laughed at everything imaginable."

Doron Shek, Dror's uncle, related that his nephew was on a five-day trek out of Kiriganga.

"He and his friends hired a local guide," Doron Shek related. "They swam in hot baths and were going to climb a mountain there, but Dror's back was hurting and he decided to go more slowly. Another friend was with him.

When they were about 15 minutes from the village, the friend was about 50 meters away from him. There was a curve in the road and it was foggy. Robbers attacked Dror, stabbing him with a knife.

His friend ran toward them and when the robbers heard him yelling they took off. Dror was found laying in a wadi, the knife next to him. His backpack was stolen."

Shek had served in an elite unit in the Israel Defense Forces. According to his uncle, he had already received several job offers.

"The family is shattered," he said.

Shek is survived by his parents and a sister.