Jerusalem: At least 39 Indians, who were in Jerusalem on an invitation from an Irrigation firm, have suddenly "disappeared" and Israeli immigration police have launched a hunt for them, officials said.

The Indians, who were in Israel as guests of the Netafim Irrigation Equipment and Drip Systems Company, arrived a week ago on a 10-day visa but 39 members were found "missing" from their hotel in the coastal city of Netanya, North of Tel Aviv, on October 28, sending alarm bells among immigration authorities in Jerusalem.

The group members had earlier in the week participated in professional training workshops on irrigation sponsored by Netafim and were supposed to have left for India on October 28.

Israeli TV channels, Israel Radio and various Herbew newspapers have reported the incident in detail.

Indian embassy officials said they had not been officially notified about the incident.

A senior Isareli Foreign Ministry officials told PTI that the issue would be investigated thoroughly. "We have to investigate it. These people have vanished without notifying us. The relevant authorities would investigate the issue and their purpose of visit in detail."

The official, however, said that the issue was unlikely to have any bearing on Israel's policy towards issuing visas to Indians.

Netafim, which has offices in India, has collaboration with Indian companies and its projects are underway in many states, particularly in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Isareli embassy in New Delhi had last year (in 2001) denied visas to 20 Indian businessmen seeking to attend a commercial exhibition in Tel Aviv.

PTI