Five Israeli victims of Bulgaria terror attack named

Interior Ministry identifies Itzik Colangi, 28, Amir Menashe, 28, Maor Harosh, 25, Elior Price, 26, and Kochava Shriki, 44 as victims; coffins expected to land for IDF ceremony; last three wounded Israelis return.

By LAHAV HARKOV, MELANIE LIDMAN, YAAKOV KATZ
Bulgaria Victims (370) (photo credit: Channel 10)
Bulgaria Victims (370)
(photo credit: Channel 10)
The Interior Ministry released on Thursday the names of the five Israelis murdered in a suicide bombing in Bulgaria Wednesday: Itzik Colangi, 28, Amir Menashe, 28, Elior Price, 26, Maor Harosh, 25, and Kochava Shriki, 44.
An IAF plane carrying the bodies left Bulgaria Thursday night. Their funerals are scheduled to take place on Friday.
Itzik Colangi and Amir Menashe were good friends from Petah Tikva. Colangi's wife GIlat gave birth to their first child, Noya, four months ago, and his birthday was two weeks ago. The couple decided to celebrate in Burgas with their friends Natalie and Amir Menashe, who have a ten-month-old son, Rom. Gilat was severely injured and Natalie was lightly injured from the terrorist attack, while Itzik and Amir were killed while packing their luggage onto the bus.
Colangi's funeral will be on Friday at 10:30 at the Segula Cemetery in Petah Tikva. Menashe's will be one hour later, in the same place.
Elior Price, a student, and Maor Harosh, an electrician, grew up together in Acre and went on vacation to Bulgaria with another close friend, Daniel Fahima. Harosh and Price were killed, while Fahima was severely injured.
Kochava Shriki of Rishon Lezion, was pregnant for the first time after years of fertility treatments. She gave her family the good news shortly before leaving for vacation in Bulgaria with her husband Yitzhak. After the attack, Yitzhak, who was injured, searched for Kochava in the rubble and in the hospital in Bulgaria, and learned of her death a day later.
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Thirty-three people wounded in the bus bombing a landed in Israel at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon at Ben-Gurion airport and were immediately transferred by ambulance to area hospitals. The majority of the victims that returned on Thursday were lightly injured though four were injured seriously or critically.
The terror attack targeting Israeli tourists killed at least seven people in the city of Burgas, soon after a charter plane, Air Bulgaria flight 392 arrived from Ben-Gurion Airport. The seven included five Israelis, the bus driver and the suicide bomber, according to the Foreign Ministry.
A second Israel Air Force plane carrying three people seriously wounded in the attack landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday night.
An IDF doctor said that the three, who were seriously injured in the attack, underwent surgery in Bulgaria before being returned home.
They were being transferred to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, Rabin Medical Center - Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva and Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
Brigadier-General (Brig.-Gen.) Dr. Itzik Kreiss commended the Bulgarian medical services for fully cooperating with Israeli doctors. He also credited the hospitals with saving the lives of some of the victims.
“It’s not always nice to be Israeli, but this is a country that knows, within 24 hours, how to bring back all of her wounded and injured from every place in the world, it makes it a little easier,” said Kreiss.
Kreiss, who accompanied the first flight from Bulgaria, said the injuries were consistent with other bus bombings, including broken limbs, cuts, burns, and multiple injuries. Kreiss added that he did not see any children under the age of 18 but could not confirm there were no children injured. Kreiss said that some of the people were in a good mental state and some were less good. “Unfortunately, it’s the same mental state as we have seen in many instances that this has happened here,” he said.