Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has declared July 30 a day of mourning after the border police helicopter on a rescue operation in Gudauri crashed, killing eight people.
The PM expressed “sincere condolences and support to the family members and relatives of the deceased, to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to our public.”
All eight people on board, the crew, rescuers, and first aid responders had died in the crash, Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said.
The rescue helicopter, which had been called to assist paragliders fell into the ravine, lost control, and crashed in a ravine. One paraglider had been injured and a foreign tourist had died, Gomelauri noted.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also extended their condolences to the family members and relatives of the deceased.
