Tragedy strikes: 2 Israeli children killed in fatal crash in Georgia

Two children were killed and their mother seriously injured in a car accident suffered by an Israeli family vacationing in Georgia on Tuesday.

The Greenfeld family from the town of Maaleh Mikhmas had traveled to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Sunday and were driving in the mountainous Tusheti region when a storm and heavy fog led their vehicle to plunge off a mountain road.

Achinoam Greenfeld, 10, and her brother Nevo, 5, were killed in the accident, while brothers Yiftah, 11, and Ivri, 7, suffered light and moderate injuries. The children's mother, Noa, is seriously wounded and their father, Hanoch is lightly wounded.

Itsik Moshe, president of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business, confirmed that "rescue teams found them at a depth of more than 80 meters [about 260 feet]."

The surviving family members were initially hospitalized in Tbilisi, but were later flown to Israel and taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. Hadassah senior orthopedic surgeon Dr. Josh Schroeder had been flown to Georgia on Tuesday to help treat the family members until they could return to Israel.

The bodies of the deceased children are set to arrive in Israel Thursday afternoon, accompanied by an uncle who flew to Georgia upon hearing of the accident. The funerals will be held on Friday.

"In Tbilisi, we were directed to a hospital for adults, where the mother was, while her children were being treated separately at a children's hospital," said Schroeder. "We flew her and the rest of the family to Israel, while she [the mother] was fully conscious. When the patients arrived at Hadassah Ein Kerem, the children were hospitalized in the children's unit -- one in moderate condition and the other one lightly [injured]. The father, who is lightly injured, will stay with them.

"The mother, who is seriously injured, was taken for a complex orthopedic surgery that lasted five hours. The surgery was completed and her condition is stable. She will be intubated and sedated," for at least another day, he added.

Reports on Thursday indicated that the mother's condition is improving and that, when not sedated, she has been able to communicate with doctors.

From the hospital, Hanoch, 42, offered his gratitude to everyone who has helped the family. "Thank you to people in Israel and in Georgia; Israelis appeared everywhere, during every process," he said. "Thank you to the rescue staff, the control center set up in Israel, to everyone who helped open the airport [on the Yom Kippur holiday] and to the Hadassah hospital staff, who waited for us in droves and who are treating us."

Meanwhile, members of the Greenfeld family and fellow residents of Maaleh Mikhmas are also dealing with the loss of the two young children. "Achinoam had a golden heart," the children's aunt, Shosha Greenfield, a film director, posted on Facebook. "She may have felt that she was just a girl, but she saw when one's heart was broken and a hug was needed. And Nevo, with his happy eyes, his great smile, his laugh, his sense of humor -- where are you, our loves-"

She asked for people to "pray for the recovery of the mother, Noa, who is seriously wounded."

Shosha Greenfield went on to post what her brother Hanoch had told her about the accident: "It was a foggy night. We were driving at 10 kph [about 6 mph]. In one moment, I don't know what happened or why, the vehicle lost control and we fell over the cliff. It was a matter of seconds.

"I don't remember what happened. When I opened my eyes, it was deathly silent and dark. At first, I thought that I was dead, and this is what things looked like after death. But then I saw Achinoam, and when I understood that she was no longer with us, I didn't want to be either. I picked her up. I thought I was the only one left.

"I looked to the edge of the cliff, but then I heard a small voice call out, "Dad." It was Ivri. We embraced. I left him at a certain point and asked him to wait for me, but I saw that he was following me everywhere. I found Noa lower down. She asked, "Where are the kids" and she said she couldn't feel her legs. I didn't tell her about Achinoam. Ivri continued following me everywhere.

"I found the rappelling rope I had brought with me and some other objects that the rolling jeep had left behind. I went up with Ivri to the spot where I could no longer climb while carrying him. I tied him so he wouldn't fall and I promised him that I would come back to get him. There was a steep, tall wall in front of me."

Hanoch continued: "I tried to climb it three times, grabbing on to whatever I could, and I slipped down, stopping myself on a rock. I saw the lights of a jeep coming closer and I realized it was our last chance.

"I don't know how, but I just climbed up. I stopped the jeep and three burly Georgians got out. I tied the rope to their towing hook and I tried to explain that I wanted them to help lower me because my son was there.

"We spoke in two different languages. When they understood that I wanted to go down, they were shocked, and they said, 'No, no, no,' and they held me tight so I wouldn't go down. But I promised Ivri I would go back and get him."

He was further quoted as saying, "I slid down with the rope, tied Ivri and screamed up to them to pull me up. They pulled us up quickly. Even though it was extremely cold, one of them took off his jacket and shirt and covered Ivri and I. They called a rescue team that worked skillfully and rescued everyone else."

This is not the first loss for the Greenfeld family. Hanoch's younger brother, Yehuda Greenfeld, was killed in the Second Lebanon War when a Katyusha rocket from Lebanon struck reserve troops in Kfar Giladi, killing 12 reservists.

Yehuda, a paratrooper, was 27 when he was killed, leaving behind his wife and two children. The late Achinoam's name -- which means "my brother is pleasant" -- was a tribute to her uncle, who died shortly before she was born.

Moshe, of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business, has pledged to work for better communication to tourists about areas in the Georgian wilderness that require extra caution, as well as to promote improved means of communication between tourists and guides.

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