Brigadier General Ya'akov Shaharabani, who is commanding the IDF rescue team in Romania that arrived in the country following Monday’s fatal helicopter crash that killed six Israeli Air Force soldiers, spoke on Wednesday evening regarding the complex operation of recovering the bodies.
“Three Yas’ur helicopters went out into the area of the crash this morning,” said Brigadier General Shaharabani. “On the three helicopters were members of our team, accompanied by members of the Romanian Air Force, with whom excellent cooperation was achieved. The search operation was conducted in an intense manner. The area in which the search is being performed has difficult working conditions. It is a mountainous area, with a steep cliff that is hard to get to. There are very high mountains in the area.
“The mission of those who are here is to bring the boys home for burial. The operation is not yet over. We are in the midst of it and we will come home only after the mission is completed,” he added.
Shaharabani also expressed condolences to the families of those who died in the crash. “On behalf of the entire delegation and especially the fighters and technicians who are here, I wish to extend our condolences to the families of those who perished, who were close friends of those who are here. The mourning and grief are great.”Earlier on Wednesday, a report by the Romanian television station “Antena 3” said that some of the bodies of the crewman killed in the tragic helicopter crash have been recovered. The IDF spokesperson confirmed the report, saying that the remains of the six IDF Air Force crewman who were killed in the crash on Monday were recovered by Israeli and Romanian rescue services. Romanian security services took some of the remains to a hospital in the city of Brasov. An Israeli forensic team is on its way to the hospital to identify and return the remains home to Israel.
The six IDF soldiers aboard the crashed helicopter in Romania were:
* Maj. Yahel Keshet (33) of Hatzerim, near Be’er Sheva, married and father of two. He was born, and his parents still live, in Moshav Sharona in the Lower Galilee, where family and friends gathered to give each other comfort and hope. “A ‘Land of Israel’ family that raised their children with values and Zionism,” a friend said with sadness.
* Lt. Nir Lakrif (25) of Tel Nof Air Force Base. His wife of a year, Maggie, who was the first to be informed that her husband was on the fallen craft, is four months pregnant. She then informed his father Yuval, who lives in Kiryat Ata with his second wife, and his mother Daniela. Nir recently completed his studies in the Air Force’s Technical School with honors.
* Lt.-Col. Avner Goldman (48) of Modi'in, the only reserves soldier on the flight.
* Lt.-Col. Daniel Shifenbauer (43) of Moshav Kidron, near Yad Binyamin, a department head in the IAF’s Operations Staff.
* Maj. Lior Shai (28) of Tel Nof Air Force Base
* Sgt.-Maj. Oren Cohen (24) of Rehovot