An Israeli woman died earlier this week after collapsing in her hotel room in Mumbai, apparently choking to death after eating pasta.
Sarit Pafta, 23, of the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva, was traveling in India with her boyfriend on a post-army trip at the time of her death, a popular destination for young Israelis after finishing their IDF service.
The Foreign Ministry said that the cause of death wasn’t immediately clear and that it was waiting the results of the autopsy.
However, Betty Banyan, a relative of Pafta, told the Hebrew-language Ynet news site that Pafta choked to death.
“She ate pasta, returned to her room and then threw up and that was it. She did not even manage to tell her boyfriend anything,” Banyan said.
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Haim Pafta, Sarit’s father, told the Walla news site that the initial conclusion from the autopsy was that she had choked to death, but said it would take a few days until there was a definitive answer.
The Foreign Ministry said that the Israeli consulate in Mumbai was arranging for the return to Israel of Pafta’s body, which is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon.
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