A 73-year-old Israeli woman was killed on Sunday night in a serious road accident in Te Anau, South New Zealand.
ZAKA’s international division reported that several vehicles were involved in the crash, and due to the severe injuries she sustained, rescue teams had to declare her dead at the scene. There were no reports of other Israelis being injured in the accident.
Baruch Niddam, director of ZAKA’s international division, said: "Immediately upon receiving the report, I contacted our ZAKA international team in New Zealand, and they reached out to the victim’s acquaintances at the scene. We are now working in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release the deceased from the local hospital for burial and funeral arrangements."
According to a statement from the local police, emergency teams were called to the scene around 8:45 a.m. local time, near a shopping center in the town center. The Israeli woman exited a vehicle, crossed a pedestrian crossing, and was then struck by a car.
“The police want to hear from anyone who was in the area or witnessed the accident, or anyone who has dashcam footage of the moment of the accident or the moments leading up to it," the statement added.
Earlier this month, an Israeli citizen, Shay Ilan Pinto, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Thailand. Pinto, 51, a father of two from northern Israel, died in an accident on the island of Koh Samui that involved two other vehicles.
In January, six Israelis were injured in a road accident in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. One of them, Yuval Cohen, was critically injured. He was flown to Israel in a brain-dead state, and his family donated his organs, saving the lives of four people.