Five Israeli nationals who were a part of the Breslov Hasidic community were killed on Friday in a fatal car accident near the city of Ouarzazate, Morocco. According to the ZAKA Search and Rescue organization, their vehicle lost control and overturned, resulting in the deaths of all passengers.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that its representatives in Rabat, along with the department for Israelis abroad are handling the incident.
The victims were identified as Natan Shapira, Shimon Tefilinski, his brother Yosef Tefilinski, Moshe Gallant and Israel Meir Shasha. Their bodies are not expected to be flown back to Israel until Sunday.
The group was part of a community led by Ukraine’s Rabbi Yaakov Jan, with a branch in Safed, Israel. Dozens of community members traveled to Morocco to pray at Jewish holy sites. The accident took place while they were en route to the tomb of another rabbi located in a remote desert area.
Hours after the group reached their destination, the absence of one vehicle prompted a search involving local police. The victims were eventually found several hours later.
Emergency service crews are coordinating to transport the bodies to Casablanca for identification and preparation for burial in Israel. The process involves collaboration between ZAKA, Moroccan authorities and local Jewish communities.
"From the moment we received the report about the tragic incident, we’ve been working through our international unit with Moroccan authorities to expedite the process of releasing and identifying the bodies and to assist the families in every possible way to bring them to burial,” ZAKA Deputy Director-General Chaim Weingarten said.
He added that the victims' vehicle had overturned and fallen into a ravine and confirmed that the bodies will be flown from Casablanca to France and then to Israel.
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