Missing soldiers farewelled in symbolic funeral as search continues

Two Georgian soldiers missing for 16 days have been remembered and farewelled in a symbolic funeral this afternoon by family and loved ones who gathered at the spot where they went missing during deep sea dive training.

Family, friends and military and state officials lowered floral wreaths into the water in memory of Corporal Iago Sharadze and First Class Private Giorgi Nanetashvili at a special ceremony in the Black Sea at Gonio, just outside Batumi.

The two soldiers failed to surface after deep sea dive training just off the coast of Gonio on August 16.

Today’s ceremony was held near the former Gonio Firing Range in the patch of sea where the incident occurred.

International crews involved in the search have stepped back from the operation, however local search and rescue crews will continue to look for and recover the men’s bodies.

The search and recovery operation was led from August 20-31 by the crew of Turkey's specially equipped Coast Guard vessel TCG Akcakoca. Photo from the Ministry of Defence of Georgia.

Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili told reporters today those involved in search would do "their utmost to find [the bodies of] the service members" but he stressed the search was heavily depended on what local resources were available.

Until now the search was being led by experts on board a specialist Turkish Coast Guard search vessel – best-equipped to lead the search efforts – however the Turkish side suspended its participation in the operation yesterday after its crew expended all resources in the search for the men.

The 650-tonne Turkish vessel with a crew of 41 led the search operation since August 20 after responding to Georgia's Defence Ministry request for assistance in locating the two missing service members.

The search and recovery effort also saw participation of the United States (US) forces assigned to Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) and another Turkish ship with crew of nine on August 17.

A state investigation has been launched to determine the cause and circumstances of the incident. Last week Defence Minister Levan Izoria told reporters that "obvious signs of a crime” had been found during the initial probe.

Yesterday he said "definite results" had been uncovered by investigators and their findings would be shared to the public "soon". Today the Defence Ministry raised the possibility of reaching out to Georgia’s international partners for further assistance in the search.