Three Mir Yeshiva Students & Pilot Killed in Plane Crash in Western Ukraine

Edited by: TJVNews.com

 

Four people were killed in a small plane crash in Ukraine on Wednesday, and three of them were reportedly ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, as was reported by the Times of Israel.

According to a report in The Daily Express, four people were killed when a small aircraft crashed into the roof of a private home in Prykarpattia in western Ukraine, sparking a large blaze.

Authorities have opened an investigation into the incident.

Army Radio reported that three of those killed were students at a yeshiva, although Channel 20 noted that they are not believed to be Israeli citizens, according to the TOI report. Yeshiva World News reported that the three students were studying at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and hailed originally from Monsey, New York; Williamsburg, Brooklyn; and London. Media reports have identified the three Jewish passengers as Amrom Fromowitz of Monsey, New York, Hershy Weiss of London, U.K. and Lazer Brill of Brooklyn, New York.

The Daily Express reported that the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement that on July 28th at approximately 1:40 pm, a light powered sports plane crashed into a private house near the village of Sheparivtsi, Kolomyia district, with subsequent burning, killing four people.

Many Orthodox Jews travel to Uman, Ukraine to visit the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Uman is located about 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of the purported crash site, as was reported by TOI.

According to Ukrainian media reports, all four casualties were those aboard the plane at the time of the crash, and nobody on the ground was harmed. Ukrainian media have reported that the fourth person killed in the crash was well-known local pilot Igor Tabanyuk.

BNO News reported that 60-year-old Igor Tabanyuk was the co-owner of a small aviation airfield. Tabanyuk was previously involved in a paragliding accident in northern India in 2009 and was rescued after six days without food. His son died in a plane crash in 2013.

The Jerusalem Post reported that last September, a military Antonov An-26 transport plane carrying air force cadets crashed and burst into flames near a highway in northeastern Ukraine on Friday evening, killing at least 22 people on board.

JTA reported that Jewish community representatives in the United States are in touch with local authorities about ensuring a timely religious burial for the three Jewish men.

A video taken by a witness showed the plane going into a nosedive as it plunged to the ground, according to BNO News.