Two Israeli women, Dina Porat and Galila Biton, were killed and 14 other travelers were injured in a boating accident on the Serrano River in southern Chile on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry reported Sunday morning. The injured include the women's partners.
The passengers, mostly in their 60s and 70s, were on an organized tour with the Masaot tour company. Chilean media said that police were looking into suspicion that the boat operator had exceeded the maximum number of passengers allowed on board the boast, which reportedly ran into boulders because of weather conditions and flipped.
Survivors of the accident were evacuated to a local hospital.
Porat's daughters wrote on Facebook: "My beloved mother was killed in the boat disaster in Chile. Dad is hurt. My heart refuses to believe it."
Biton's daughters, Tzlil and Aviv, told Israeli media they were leaving for Chile to bring their mother's body back and help their father, who they said had "a body full of broken bones."
"Dad talked to us and told us what happened. He told us that apparently, the boat captain made a mistake, navigated, and ran into a boulder," the daughters said.
Israeli Ambassador to Chile Eldad Hayet and the embassy staff were keeping abreast of developments and were in contact with the victims as well as Chilean authorities.
The Israeli consul in Chile, Lion Suissa, left to visit the hospitalized travelers.
Speaking to Israeli media Sunday morning, Suissa said that the circumstances that led to the accident were still unclear.
"Local authorities are still investigating. There are four people seriously wounded, but their lives are not in danger. The rest are listed in moderate and light condition," Suissa said.
Acting Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz spoke with Hayet and offered to do anything in his power to help the injured. Katz said that the Israeli Embassy in Santiago must do anything necessary to have the injured flown back to Israel if needed.
