Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., January 14, 2008 Shvat 7, 5768 | | Israel Time: 18:41 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Israel Police and ZAKA volunteers preparing for their flight to Namibia on Sunday. (Tomer Appelbaum) Last update - 18:38 14/01/2008 Israeli delegations land in Namibia to identify plane crash victims By Yigal Hai and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service Tags: Israel, Namibia, ZAKA Delegations from the Israel Police and the ZAKA rescue and identification organization landed on Monday in Namibia in order to begin the process of identifying the five Israelis who perished in a plane crash near the southern African nation's capital on Saturday. The delegation members will meet with the local police commander in order to coordinate their work. Diamond industry officials have identified five passengers killed when their light aircraft crashed in a residential suburb of Namibia's capital Windhoek on Saturday as Israeli diamond dealers. Advertisement Family members of the five casualties - Shlomo Zilberberg, Shmuel Zigdon, Amit Cohen, Ilan Hadadi and Avichai Abarov - arrived Sunday at Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, in Jaffa, to provide DNA samples and dental records of their relations, to help in identifying the bodies. The five Israelis died together with four other local workers who were also aboard the plane. The crash occurred on Friday afternoon, shortly after the chartered Cessna-210 took off, after a refueling stop in Windhoek. The deceased were apparently headed to a lodge in the Etosha National Wildlife Park in northern Namibia. About two minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed, as it was attempting an emergency landing in a residential suburb of Windhoek. The men were in Namibia to oversee the construction of three new diamond-cutting facilities in South Africa. The project was initiated by Zilberberg, who was a leading figure in the Israeli diamond trade. The trip to Etosha was meant to provide his employees with an opportunity for rest and relaxation. Zilberberg, 54, is survived by his wife, and two sons, aged 13 and 18. He lived with his family in Netanya, and meant to move to Udim, a moshav nearby, where he owns a horse ranch. Amit Cohen, 26, from Herzliya, is survived by his wife, Sivan, whom he married several months ago. She is five months pregnant. Cohen's uncle, Mordechai Halfon, said that his nephew, who worked for Halfon, had planned to buy the apartment he was renting with his wife. Shmuel Zigdon, 53, is survived by his wife, and four children, aged 16, 18, 24 and 30. He also lived in the Sharon region, in Moshav Porat, where he was born and raised. He began working in the diamond industry at the age of 14, slowly working his way up through the ranks before opening his own cutting plant in Ramat Gan. The fourth Israeli casualty, Ilan Hadadi, 44, from Netanya, was single. He met Zilberberg as an electrician, and the latter hired him to work on the the Udim horse ranch. The fifth casualty, Avichai Abarov, a gemologist, was supposed to run one of Zilberberg's plants. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iranian rhetoric Iranian boats threaten, so the U.S. candidates step up rhetoric. A new citizen Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship

Today Online Sources: Barak and settlers reach deal on outpost evacuations Responses: 113 Haaretz probe: Shin Bet count of civilian deaths in Gaza is low Responses: 111 Akiva Eldar: We must strengthen Abbas, not invade Gaza Responses: 29 Zvi Bar'el: The Arabs should stop whining Responses: 47 AJ Congress slams 'Ms'. for rejecting ad on top Israeli women Responses: 35 Rosner's Domain Obama "will be the friend we want in the White House" Do we really want more people to read Ms.? (WTR) Poll: Does Bush still placing the promotion of democracy at the top of his agenda? Iranian's threaten, the candidates threaten back Rosner's Guest: The Jews are best prepared for a "flat world" More Headlines 17:53 Olmert says opposes IDF Gaza onslaught for now 17:50 PM: Israel is not ruling out any options to block Iranian nukes 16:39 Netanyahu urges Shas, Yisrael Beiteinu to quit government 18:04 Peres: Chance for talks will be lost if we wait till all sides ready 17:19 Democrats woo Jewish, minority vote as primaries heat up 18:19 Two Palestinians indicted for murder of W. Bank settler Ido Zoldan 14:36 At peak of cold front, electricity demand may reach all-time high 18:38 Israeli delegations land in Namibia to identify plane crash victims 15:00 Court rules alleged U.S. pedophile Mondrowitz must stay in custody 13:26 University presidents meet on possible cancelation of the semester Previous Editions Select Day 13 jan 11 jan 10 jan 09 jan 08 jan 07 jan 06 jan 04 jan 03 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec

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