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Fast Forward

Israeli Vacationer Missing After Hippo Attack on African Safari

An Israeli attorney on vacation with his family in the southern African nation of Zambia is missing after a hippopotamus flipped over the boat he was riding in with his children.

Israeli media are reporting that Aviyam Yariv, 39, the son of Israeli editor and model Hilit Yeshurun, was likely attacked by hippos and alligators in the Zambezi River, which separates Zambia from Zimbabwe.

Yariv’s two children were able to make it to shore; he reportedly was not wearing a life jacket.

Yeshurun has arrived in Zambia to help search for her son. The Israeli consul to Nairobi in Kenya, the closest diplomat to the incident, also has arrived to assist in the search, Ynet reported.

The Zambezi is one of the most picturesque rivers in Africa and teeming pods of hippos fill the shallow water. Lions peer from the banks and giant herds of game live on remote islands.

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