Search underway for Israeli hiker missing in Kyrgyzstan

Helicopter joins rescue teams looking for 22-year-old Hillah Livne, who was last seen on Saturday

An Israeli search team arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday to assist locals searching for a Tel Aviv woman missing since Saturday.

Local rescue teams have been searching for 22-year-old backpacker Hillah Livne for three days, and were joined Tuesday by an Israeli search and rescue group and a helicopter.

At the time Livne went missing, another member of the group of Israeli hikers fell and was injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that since Livne went missing, near the village of Arkit in the northwest of the country, it has been closely tracking and constantly monitoring rescue efforts.

The Foreign Ministry said the Israeli consulate in Kazakhstan has maintained contact with the specialist search and rescue teams who are scouring the difficult terrain, along with many locals who have participated in the search efforts.

The Israeli consul in neighboring Kazakhstan, Ariel Braverman, appealed to foreign diplomats, including the German army attache, for the assistance of a military helicopter in the search.

Livne was hiking with friends in the central Asian country, and until last week had posted regular photos of her trip on her Facebook page.