3 people die in a residential building fire in Rustavi, Georgia
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Three people have died following a fire in a five-storey residential building in the eastern Georgian city of Rustavi.
In a statement this morning, the Interior Ministry said that the fire started in one of the flats and spread across the entire building at the Megobroba Street.
Alongside fire-fighting efforts, rescue officers evacuated the building and took 25 people, including minors, to safety. Three people could not be saved.
"Despite the high concentration of smoke and bad visibility, up to 20 firefighters of the emergency management agency under the Interior Ministry managed to localise and liquidate the fire in the shortest possible time”, the ministry said in a statement.
An investigation has been launched to find out the cause of the fire.
No casualties
The Emergency Service of the ministry managed to localize the fire and was successful in containing it. 40 fire-fighters and eight vehicles from Tskaltubo, Kutaisi and Zestaponi municipalities fought the fire.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has recalled the recent hotel tragedy in Batumi which claimed 11 lives in fire and highlighted the importance of preventing such accidents and the strong control of safety systems in various buildings.
The Georgian national flags are flying at half-mast today at all government buildings across the country in remembrance of nearly a dozen people who died during the fire at Leogrand Hotel in Georgia's seaside town of Batumi on November 24.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili landed in Batumi, Adjara from Brussels yesterday as a fire broke out in Leogrand Hotel killing 11 people.