Efforts continued Thursday morning to locate Israeli tourist Or Assraf, 22, of Lehavim, the last remaining Israeli classified as "unaccounted for" in Nepal.
Five days after the devastating earthquake that struck Kathmandu, Assraf's whereabouts remain unknown. His father, Patrick, is expected to arrive in Nepal on Thursday, together with Or's friends from the Egoz Reconnaissance Unit, to help in the searches.
Assraf's sister, Ella, told Channel Ten on Thursday morning that despite not calling his family, the satellite locating device on Or's phone continues to work.
It should definitely be taken into account, she said, the possibility that he went for a walk in an isolated area and does not know about the earthquake, as well as about the urgency of contracting his family in Israel.
Assraf was moderately wounded during intense fighting in Shejiaya as part of last summer's Gaza war, miraculously surviving the shrapnel caught in his neck. The family hopes, Ella said, that good luck will strike him twice.
According to Ella, Assaraf was supposed to return from his post-army trip in July. The morning of the earthquake, he took a bus in the direction of the Langtang Valley Trek. He was likely alone, Ella added, because "he is the challenge-oriented type."
Meanwhile, the IDF delegation in Nepal reported on Wednesday that 27 other Israeli tourists had flocked to a field hospital set by the Israeli military in Kathmandu. Seven required medical treatment.
An additional 20 to 30 other Israeli backpackers are awaiting rescue, but are in stable condition and their locations known.
Thousands were killed in the disaster with the Nepal Police's latest figure on Thursday as high as 5,500. That number is likely to continue rising as more bodies are dug out of the rubble. Over 11,400 people were also injured in the devastating quake.