Rescuers, first respondents who died in Gudauri helicopter crash awarded Civic Dedication Medal

The civil funeral is held in the Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. The pilots of the border police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the rescuers of the emergency management service would be buried with full military honours. Photo: Presidential Administration

Agenda.ge, 02 Aug 2022 - 12:47, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday awarded the crew, rescuers and first responders who died in the border police helicopter crash near the winter resort town of Gudauri in Georgia’s north on Friday with the state Medal for Civic Dedication.

The civil funeral is held in the Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. The pilots of the border police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the rescuers of the emergency management service will be buried with full military honours. 

The helicopter on a rescue operation in Gudauri lost control and crashed in a ravine on Friday. The helicopter had been carrying rescuers of the Emergency Management Service and first aid responders called to assist paragliders who had ended up in the ravine earlier.

There were four crew members onboard the helicopter, as well as two rescuers from the emergency management service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and two medics from the emergency coordination and emergency assistance centre of the Ministry of Health.

The investigation into the violation of air transport traffic rules is underway under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.