Georgian authorities announced on Friday that the death toll from a landslide in the Racha mountain region rose to 24, with extensive damage to houses, power lines and roads.
“The death toll from the avalanche has risen to 24 and a tourist and medical center has been severely damaged in the mountain town of Sowi in the northern Racha region of the country since last week”an official statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure of Georgia stated that
“Emergency teams are continuing their rescue mission to find another nine people who are still missing”the news agency reported APD.
Also watch: Activist sentenced to six years in Russia for posting anti-war message
“More than 210 people have been successfully rescued”expanded the report, in which he also reported the location of three other inanimate bodies in areas affected by the landslide, including one on the bed of the Rioni River, a major river in western Georgia.
According to eyewitnesses, the landslide “It destroyed everything in its path and took the cabin”on the banks of the Chanchaji River.
“In the disaster area, rescuers continue to work tirelessly, and search and rescue operations continue to this day”said Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze.
You might be interested in: Three French police officers accused of killing a man in riots
Authorities in the country said it was the worst disaster of its kind since the 1991 earthquake.
Merab Gaprindashvili, a geologist at the Georgian Environment Agency, said the disaster was caused by a combination of factors, mainly heavy rain and melting. “intense” Two glaciers.
“These geological and hydrometeorological events occur simultaneously”Gaprindashvili explained in an interview with the TV channel that he insisted that “Never before has a natural event like it occurred in western Georgia”.
Source: Teram.