Yitzhak Katzin
Yitzhak KatzinCourtesy of the family

Yitzhak Katzin, a 61-year-old resident of the city of Ariel in Samaria, was killed on Thursday in a parachute accident near Pretoria, South Africa.

The Foreign Ministry said that the Department of Israelis Abroad and the Israeli consul in Pretoria, Yaffa Mendel, were assisting the family and working to return Katzin’s body for burial in Israel.

"Next week, after 41 years, I am flying back to Cape Town with my parachute and I am so excited about the new situation," Katzin wrote on his Facebook page just last week. "South Africa has changed, blacks and whites can now live together in peace."

Ariel Mayor Eliyahu Shaviro eulogized Katzin on Thursday evening, saying, "Yitzhak is a dear man whom I loved and respected due to his integrity and his willingness to contribute and help the community. We shared common interests because we both love challenges and I say goodbye to him today with great pain. His wife, Simacha, is a well-liked kindergarten teacher in the city and we will accompany the family at its darkest hour."

Katzin’s death came hours after an 18-year-old Israeli woman was seriously injured after being hit by a car near ​​Cape Town.

The young woman was in South Africa to volunteer in the Jewish community. Local police are investigating the accident. The victim’s mother flew to South Africa and is alongside her daughter in the hospital.