50km rescue mission saves seriously injured man in Shatili mountains

Rescuers spent hours tramping 50km through heavy snow to rescue a young man who suffered life-threatening injuries in Georgia’s historic highland village Shatili, which lies near the border with Chechnya.

Gigi Chincharauli, a young Shatili resident, suffered multiple hip and leg fractures when he fell off a rock and rolled down the mountainside while collecting wood from the forest.

The rescue operation started yesterday evening as a group of 10 rescuers from Georgia’s Emergency Management Agency departed for the remote Shatili village.

Bad weather meant the team were unable to use a helicopter to reach the remote village so they had to walk to the village instead. They needed to carry all their medical supplies, and took painkillers for Chincharauli.

The rescuers walked about 50 kilometers in snow and only reached the site this afternoon – more than 12 hours after they departed.

The rescue mission was successfully completed. Photo by the Interior Ministry's press office 

As the weather improved today, the border police helicopter was used to transfer the man to hospital.

Chincharauli, his mother and the rescuers return to Tbilisi in the border police helicopter. Photo by Interior Ministry's press office

Chincharauli was now in Tbilisi and being treated by medical experts.

Shatili is a popular destination for local and international tourists and mountain trekkers.

Shatili, Georgia. Photo by Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge