Landslide hits Georgian resort, at least 12 dead

On August 3, a strong landslide occurred in the mountainous Georgian resort of Shovi. Currently, 12 dead are known, more than 20 people are considered missing. August 7 is declared a day of mourning in the country. The edition told in more detail with the BBC.

Photo: IStock

The search operation continues in the buried gorge.

Experts call the natural disaster in Shovi the largest event in Western Georgia over the past 30 years. Geologist Merab Gaprindashvili told reporters that more than 5 million cubic meters of solid mass had come into motion.

“In the gorge where Shovi is located, there have been continuous showers over the past few days,” the geologist explained. - To this was added the intensive melting of two glaciers near the Caucasus Range. These two phenomena caused the activation of shear processes.”

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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that on Monday, August 7, a day of mourning will be declared in Georgia.

The head of the Georgian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Teimuraz Mgebrishvili, told reporters that the landslide covered cottages.

“Where there were cottages, there is now practically nothing left,” he noted. “We see the wreckage of these cottages in the mass of the earth.” This complicates the rescue operation."

According to Garibashvili, servicemen of the Georgian army will be involved in the operation.

“We will start mobilization in a few hours. We have the appropriate equipment with which they will arrive, there are special bridges that we will use if necessary,” said Defense Minister Dzhuanshera Burchuladze.

Helicopters and rescue teams with dogs are taking part in the search operation.

According to local media, border police helicopters have already evacuated more than 200 people from the disaster area.

The landslide in Shovi came down on August 3 in the evening, but the rescuers were able to reach the scene only until nightfall.

The popular mountain resort Shovi is located in the valley of the Chanchakhi River, it is located seven kilometers from the border with Russian-occupied North Ossetia.

Racha is a mountainous region in the north-west of Georgia, which is sometimes called local Switzerland due to the beauty of its landscapes.

Ukrainian woman died

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that among the dead at the resort in Georgia there is a Ukrainian.

“A Ukrainian woman died as a result of a landslide in Shovi. The search for her husband and three children, who were also with her at the scene of the tragedy, continues,” the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

Later it became known that the deceased was a Ukrainian journalist and editor Alina Polikovskaya.

The Ukrainian embassy in Georgia has established contact with the relatives of the deceased and is working with the Georgian authorities to prepare the repatriation of the body.

In parallel, a check is underway to see if there were other Ukrainians in Shovi during the landslide.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed condolences over the death of people in the Georgian resort village of Shovi.

“I express my sincere condolences to the Georgian society in connection with the natural disaster that claimed lives,” he wrote on Twitter. “I sympathize with the families and friends of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.”

Zelensky published the message in Ukrainian and Georgian.

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