Gov’t agency orders closure of Batumi hotel that claimed 11 lives last year
The Welmond Hotel, previously the Leogrand Hotel, was built in 2015. Photo: info.Batumi.ge.
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The Georgian Emergency Management Service says that the five-star hotel Welmond in Georgia’s coastal Batumi city must close at 6pm tomorrow, as the hotel failed to meet the safety standards after the deadly blaze last year which claimed 11 lives.
The statement came after the request of the hotel administration to allow them to work until the summer season ends in Batumi.
“The hotel administration has had sufficient time to address violations. However, they have not even launched works to this end,” the Emergency Management Service reported, and said that their decision was based on a court verdict.
Welmond Hotel is the new name of the Leogrand Hotel which experienced a deadly fire last year which killed 11 people and injured 21.
The Emergency Management Service of Georgia demands the suspension of the operations of the former Leogrand Hotel in the Black Sea town of Batumi which is now operating as Velmonde Hotel and Casino.
Two people may face detention for violating safety standards that caused a fire at the Leogrand Hotel in Batumi last November.
In recognition of the dozens of people who died during the fire at Leogrand Hotel in Georgia's seaside town of Batumi, November 27 has been declared as a day of mourning. Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced the government is mourning the tragedy alongside other citizens.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili landed in Batumi, Adjara from Brussels yesterday as a fire broke out in Leogrand Hotel killing 11 people.
Two individuals have been charged for their responsibility in the Batumi Leogrand fire, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people on 24 November 2017.