"We will do everything to ensure the maximum safety of our citizens and tourists, to protect the international reputation that our country has built, including through its ski resorts”, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said.
PM Kvirikashvili was referring to today’s ski-lift accident in Georgia’s winter resort of Gudauri that has left 11 with minor and moderate injuries, including citizens of Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Sweden.
Kvirikashvili said he is being updated with information pertaining to the condition of those who have been injured.
From the outset, all relevant agencies were mobilized to assist the injured and they were given first aid on the ground. Several have been transported by helicopter and mobile intensive care ambulances to Tbilisi, where they are receiving medical treatment”, PM Kvirikashvili said.
An investigation of the incident has been launched. Moreover, Kvirikashvili said, a group of independent international technical experts will soon arrive in Georgia to study the situation in detail, produce an unbiased report and those responsible will be punished severely.
Georgian Minister of Economy Dimitri Kumsishvili said the representatives of the Austrian company that has installed the ski-lifts in Gudauri are on their way to Georgia. Photo by the Ministry of Economy's press office
We are in constant communication with the families of those affected. Each family has a focal person who makes sure the families have everything they need and do not lack any care”, Georgian Minister of Economy Dimitri Kumsishvili said.
The Austrian Doppelmayr Garaventa group – a ski-lift producer that has 14,400 ski-lifts installed worldwide - has been asked to send experts to determine the reasons behind the malfunction.
The Head of the National Tourism Administration of the Economy Ministry Giorgi Chogovadze announced that all other ski-lifts in Gudauri continue to work as the relevant documents are available proving they are safe.