Georgian national park security service head dies in forest fire
Ivane Kupradze has been working in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park since 2003. Photo: Agency of Protected Areas
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Security service head of Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park 43-year-old Ivane Kupradze has died in a forest fire today.
His death was caused by a falling tree Agency of Protected Areas official statement says.
Ivane Kupradze had been working in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park since 2003.
Kupradze was the protagonist of The FLEG II Forest Heroes series short film, in which he talks about a forest ranger’s life and the difficulties he has to overcome to protect nature.
''I have I I been dreaming of becoming a ranger since childhood’’ Ivane Kupradze. Video:The FLEG II Forest Heroes series
The Agency of Protected Areas has expressed deep condolences to his family .
Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze also expressed sorrow over the death of Ivane Kupradze at today’s briefing:
‘’He was a distinguished and truly dedicated ranger who protected the unique nature of Borjomi from poachers at the risk of his own life, I express my condolences to the family of Ivane Kupradze, his relatives, friends and colleagues’’.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into the incident.
UPDATED: It is the third day that a massive forest fire which broke out in the Borjomi Gorge is still raging in Central Georgia. The latest estimations say that tens of hectares of forestland is on fire.
As of now, all the main fire spots have been localised, but there are areas where the threat of fire spreading has not been removed, Georgia’s Environment Ministry said this morning.
The forest fire in Georgia’s Borjomi Gorge has been extinguished and firefighting crews from neighbouring countries are leaving the gorge.
The Japanese Embassy to Georgia and international organization Mercy Corps have gifted two forest firefighting vehicles to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
If you've visited protected areas of Georgia and are wondering about the professionals protecting them in their daily work, video profiles of rangers patrolling the diverse landscape of the country are now going up to introduce their stories to social media users.
Giorgi Abramishvili, a ranger looking after the Batsara-Babaneuri Protected Area in Georgia's east, has been named among 10 recipients of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's International Ranger Awards for this year.