German expert lost in Georgian national park

Three offices of the Georgian Government are searching for a foreign environment expert who went missing three days ago in one of Georgia’s protected areas.

Staff from the Interior Ministry, Environment Ministry and Ministry of Defence are involved in the land and air search for 73-year-old German Professor Dr Hannes Hofle.

Dr Hofle was last seen about midday on June 8 in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park in central Georgia.

The German national was invited to Georgia to participate in the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) project in the South Caucasus.

The Borjomi-Kharagauli Park is one of the largest national parks in Europe, measuring 5,300 square kilometres - 7.6 percent of the total territory of Georgia.

The park was founded in 1995 and officially inaugurated in 2001. It is known all around the world for its unique diversity of geographical and ecological zones, landscapes, historical monuments and rich flora and fauna.