French-Israeli killed in Vietnam motorcycle accident, ZAKA working to retrieve remains for burial

The victim, David Ben Lulu from Jerusalem, had dual Israeli-French citizenship, and as such the Foreign Ministry had to coordinate between Vietnam and France in order to retrieve his remains.

A 23-year-old Israeli was killed in a motorcycle accident in Vietnam on Friday, the ZAKA rescue and recovery organization announced on Sunday.

The victim, David Ben Lulu from Jerusalem, had dual Israeli-French citizenship, and as such the Foreign Ministry had to coordinate between Vietnam and France in order to retrieve his remains for burial in Israel.

"Since we learned of the case, we have been working non-stop with the French, Vietnamese and Israeli authorities," Serge Ben Chaim, commander of ZAKA France, explained. "This morning I personally arrived at the French Foreign Ministry, where the necessary instructions were given to the team in Hanoi, and at the same time we are in direct contact with the French consulate and the family. Following the efforts, the consulate in Hanoi was opened today specifically to promote the processing of documents."

Motorcycle accident victim's remains hundreds of km. from Hanoi

Ben Chaim added that Ben Lulu's remains were hundreds of kilometers away from Hanoi, and that ZAKA was working on a way to arrange his transfer to Israel as soon as possible.

Chaim Weingarten, ZAKA's VP of Operations, described the situation as a "complex case," which required cooperation between several countries' agencies.

"ZAKA's international unit is working together with ZAKA France and the family to overcome the difficulties and expedite the procedures as much as possible," he said. "We hope to quickly complete all the necessary actions and bring the late David for burial in Israel."