Tbilisi flood: Mtkvari River drained as rescuers search for missing people

More than a thousand rescuers are examining the riverbed of Tbilisi’s main river, the Mtkvari, to find the three people who remain missing following the June 13 deadly flash flood.

The river level has been purposely lowered in Tbilisi to assist rescuers with their efforts.

Head of the Emergency Situations Management Agency Zviad Katsashvili said the river was being monitored from Tbilisi to the Red Bridge at the Georgia-Azerbaijan border, where 200 officers from the Special Services Department were mobilised.

"We have only seen several bodies of dead animals in the Mtkvari River but no missing people have been found so far,” Katsashvili said.

The dead animal bodies included 18 dogs, a bear and a pony. The pony was believed to belong to Tbilisi Zoo, which was heavily destroyed in the flooding. The dogs and the bear were understood to have originated from a private animal shelter that was also destroyed on June 13.

Officials said since the Mtkvari River was lowered in Tbilisi, the river level had increased by 20 centimeters in the Kvemo Kartli region in southern Georgia but this would not pose any danger to the area or the local population.