David Ben Lulu, a 23-year-old Jerusalem resident, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Vietnam, prompting an international effort to return his body to Israel for burial. ZAKA announced his death and said its teams were working with authorities in Israel, France and Vietnam to complete the arrangements.

N12 reported, citing preliminary information, that Ben Lulu had been riding alone and was killed in a single-vehicle accident. Those initial details have not been accompanied by a definitive account of what caused the crash.

Ben Lulu held both Israeli and French citizenship, making coordination with French authorities part of the effort to bring him home. Following an appeal to France’s Foreign Ministry, the French consulate in Hanoi opened specially on a day it was scheduled to remain closed, allowing officials to advance the paperwork needed for his return.

Serge Ben Chaim, commander of ZAKA France, said he personally went to the French Foreign Ministry, where instructions were issued to the team in Hanoi. He said his organization was also maintaining direct contact with the French consulate and Ben Lulu’s family.

The logistical challenge extends beyond the consular documents. Ben Lulu’s body was hundreds of kilometers from Hanoi, and arrangements were still needed to transfer him to the capital before a flight to Israel. ZAKA’s international unit was working with the family and local authorities to complete those procedures.

The Jerusalem outlet Haredim Jerusalem reported that Ben Lulu lived in Har Nof and had planned to spend Shabbat with his sister, who was also in Vietnam. A former yeshiva classmate remembered his willingness to help others, even in the middle of the night. “He had the biggest heart I have ever seen,” the friend told the outlet.

Chaim Weingarten, ZAKA’s deputy director of operations, said its international unit and French branch were working together to overcome the complications and accelerate the arrangements. The organization’s latest account described those efforts as ongoing, with the immediate goal of bringing Ben Lulu back to Israel for burial.