A search mission is on to trace an Israeli tourist who vanished while hiking near Indrahar Pass, in the mountains above Dharamsala. Samuel Vengrinovich, an Israeli-American, went missing on Friday during a trek to the Triund Ridge, a popular hiking destination in Himachal Pradesh, according to Israeli media reports.
Upon the request of the Israel Embassy, the authorities have launched a search mission for Vengrionovitch, who left his bag, including his cell phone at the overnight campsite. He is said to have hiked with a Dutch friend and several Indian tourists, who returned without him later that day.
"After several weeks of trekking in the Himalayas of Nepal, Sam made a stop in Dharamsala, where I last heard from him. He told me he was planning to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to attend a public teaching by the Dalai Lama," Vengrionovitch's friend Eliyahu Freedman wrote in The Times of Israel.
"He was on a mission—to heal. After the October 7 attacks and the war in Gaza, we spoke often about how deeply Israelis were suffering, how trauma was travelling with them across continents," he added.
Fellow hikers claim the Israeli moved toward a nearby snow line, which was one of the most dangerous sections of the trail. The terrain is much higher and the weather was bad too. Another Israeli hiker who met Vengrionovitch on the trail confirms the weather conditions were worse and believes he could be stranded and in need of help, according to The Times of Israel. "He’s done tough hikes before,” said Hagai, an Israeli traveller who encountered him on the trail. "But this one is extremely difficult. I believe he’s in trouble and waiting for rescue."
Samuel Vengrinovich went missing last Friday while hiking in northern India's Mount Triund trail in the Himalayas – his cousin, Lev Kogan, joined @nicole_zedeck to detail search and rescue efforts amid remote, difficult terrain and low visibility due to the weather pic.twitter.com/bEk1duT6bF
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 11, 2025
Alarmed fellow hikers alerted local authorities and the Foreign Ministry after Vengrinovich failed to return to the campsite or make contact with friends. The Israeli Embassy in India immediately alerted the authorities and a search was launched by the police and rescue officials in the region. Chabad of Dharamshala and Magnus International Search and Rescue, a private Israeli firm specialising in emergency response, also took part in the search with a number of Israeli backpackers.
