Jewish Man Dies in Earthquake

The body of Rabbi Chaim Ashkenazi obm has been recovered from the collapsed office building in which he was working during the time of the earthquake which struck Mexico City on Tuesday.

Rabbi Ashkenazi, father of the daughter-in-law of Mexico’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Tawil, was apparently trapped under the rubble after Tuesday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico City, killing at least 61 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust and thousands fled into the streets in panic.

The 76-year-old Rabbi had been missing since the earthquake, and Hatzalah and Zaka volunteers were on the scene throughout the week, as well as Rosh Hashana, as they searched for him.

“The ZAKA Mexico volunteers have been working continuously together with the Mexican Jewish rescue and recovery organization Cadena since Tuesday (Sept 19), including throughout Rosh Hashana and Shabbat, in accordance with the rulings of Chief Rabbi of Mexico, Rabbi Shlomo Tawil,” Zaka said in a statement.

ZAKA International Rescue Unit Chief Officer Mati Goldstein said, “Immediately after Shabbat went out in Mexico (early morning Israel time), we received an update from our team in Mexico that they had recovered the body of the missing Jewish man.

“The ZAKA team, which was on the scene at the time the earthquake struck, will remain until we receive an update that there are no more missing people. The team continued to work throughout Rosh Hashana and Shabbat in accordance with a ruling by the Chief Rabbi of Mexico, Rabbi Shlomo Tawil.”