Rescue operation continues after landslide in Dariali
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Rescue workers are continuing to search for survivors and victims of a devastating landslide in Dariali valley.
Search and rescue teams worked through Saturday night and all day today to clear debris from Tergi river in Dariali valley.
It is believed one million cubic meters of land mass flew into the river during the landslide.
The major slip happened early yesterday morning near Gveleti village, 20km away from where the Dariali Hydro Power Plant (HPP) is currently being built in northern Georgia, near the Russian border.
Sixteen drivers – all foreign citizens – have been relocated to the Vladikavkaz border following the landslide.
It has been reported Russia has opened its previously closed border crossings and drivers passing through Georgia are able to pass through this border.
Local authorities said all foreign citizens stuck as a result of the landslide had been moved to Stepantsminda by aircraft last night, and are currently waiting at the border there.
To date 205 people located in the landslide zone have been evacuated by the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs rescue team.
Two foreign citizens were transferred to a Tbilisi hospital after suffering various injuries, including fractured bones however one, a Ukrainian citizen, died this morning. A doctor at Gudushauri Clinic said the Ukranian patient suffered from long pressure syndrome and multiple organ failure.
Meanwhile recovery and cleaning work in the affected area will begin once geologists survey the site and decide if there is a threat of future landslides.
Today, the Revenue Service of Georgia said the Customs Checkpoint in Kazbegi had stopped working to prevent possible danger towards Customs officers, vehicles and people moving in the direction of the Russian border.
It is believed one million cubic meters of land mass slipped down the mountainside and into Tergi river in Dariali valley.
"Currently there is no threat of this kind of danger [happening again] since the retained water is down a few miles and the river has started flowing,” Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze told journalists from the site today.
Some speculated that the construction of the Dariali HPP caused the landslide, as the two were in close proximity with each other. However Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili insisted there was no connection with between the HPP and the landslide, which happened 20km apart.
In the contrary, the PM said the Dariali HPP tunnel helped the excess water flow away from the site.
"This saved us from an even larger catastrophe,” the PM said today from Mukhuri village, where construction on the Khobi 2 Hydro Power Plant is set to begin in the near future.
Six people are missing following a landslide this morning near Gveleti village, 20km from the Dariali Hydro Power Plant construction site in northern Georgia near the Russian border, say authorities after travelling to the landslide-hit territory.
The Prime Minister and President of Georgia are on their way to Dariali Gorge to offer their support following a landslide this morning near Gveleti village, in northern Georgia near the Russian border.
Early this morning a section of mountainside collapsed and caused a landslide near Gveleti village, in the Kazbegi region.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has thanked Russia for offering support to Georgia following a devastating landslide that claimed the life of a Ukrainian citizen.
Heavy machinery used in the aftermath of the devastating landslide in Dariali Gorge has caused environmental impacts on the Tergi riverbed.
Earthquake experts are monitoring seismic activity on Mount Kazbek following the devastating landslide in Dariali Gorge, northern Georgia, on May 17.
Emergency groups are attempting to build a temporary road in Dariali Gorge to enable vehicles to pass through the area, which was cut off when a devastating landslide blocked the valley on May 17.
Rescue workers have recovered a man’s body following the devastating landslide in Georgia's Dariali Gorge.
Rescue workers have recovered a second body following the devastating landslide in Georgia's Dariali Gorge.
International experts tasked with investigating the landslide in Dariali Gorge have presented their initial findings, which includes installing an automatic early warning system to alert locals of a possible disaster.
The major road through the Caucasus connecting Georgia to Russia has reopened after being blocked by a landslide for about 10 days.
Georgia will develop new mechanisms to quickly respond and tackle the effects of natural disasters.
A protective dam has been built in the Tergi River in Dariali Gorge in northern Georgia to prevent the area from future natural disasters following the major landslide that killed at least three people last year.