Denver Isaacs
17 January 2008
THE process of officially identifying the five foreign victims of a plane crash that happened in Windhoek last week was concluded yesterday.
The bodies of the five Israeli men were expected to be transported back to their country of origin last night, following a memorial service that was held for them last night at the Avbob Funeral Parlour in Windhoek.
The deceased are Shlomo Silberberg, Avihay Abaro, Ilan Adadi (45), Amit Cohen and Zigdon Shmuel.
They had been in Namibia as technical partners of the NamGem Diamond Manufacturing Company at Okahandja, and were employed as executives in the New York-based Lazare Kaplan International diamond manufacturer.
An Israeli team of police officers, pathologists and religious inspectors have been in the country since Monday, assisting the Namibian Police in the investigation of the plane crash.
Police spokesperson Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu said this week that the Israeli team had brought with them DNA samples and dental records to help with the identification.
The Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Ilan Baruch, has been in Namibia since the weekend to try and resolve the matter of identifying the five foreign bodies.
Israel does not have an embassy in Namibia.
The five Israelis and the South African-born pilot of the Cessna 210 aircraft that they had been travelling in died after the plane crashed into a house in the Olympia residential area on Friday afternoon.
All the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
The cause of the crash, which happened minutes after takeoff from the Eros Airport, remains under investigation.
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