Defence Forces depart to join search, rescue operations in disaster zone in Georgia’s west following landslide
The Defence Ministry said the Eastern Command's combat-engineering unit had already left for Shovi with appropriate equipment to respond to the call-up. Photo: Ministry of Defence
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Defence Forces on Friday said its units had departed to join the ongoing search and rescue operations in the western municipality of Oni to find remaining survivors after a landslide killed at least 11 in the Shovi resort on Thursday.
The Defence Ministry said the Eastern Command's combat-engineering unit had already left for Shovi with appropriate equipment to respond to the call-up.
Photo: Ministry of Defence
It noted that a company-sized unit of the 102nd battalion of the territorial reserve of the National Guard, provided with the latest generation rescue equipment, would also join the rescue efforts.
The unit had also undergone “specialised” training under the supervision of instructors from the Emergency Situations Management Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Photo: Ministry of Defence
Brigadier General Koba Grigolia, the head of the Georgian Defence Forces Western Command, was in charge of the directions and needs of the involvement of the units, the body said, noting combat-engineering battalions from the Eastern and Western Commands and other relevant units of the Ministry were “in full readiness” to join rescue operations “as soon as” they receive a call-up.
Temur Mgebrishvili, the Head of the Emergency Situations Management Service, made a summary comment to the media regarding today's events and the ongoing operations in the disaster site, by saying that the rescue operations were underway “even now”.
Temur Mgebrishvili, the Head of the Emergency Situations Management Service, Photo: Ministry of Internal Affairs
The official noted that additional tasks had been defined during the meeting with the Prime Minister, implying the mobilisation of additional forces from tomorrow.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Friday said 400 rescuers and two helicopters were involved in the search and rescue operation for 35 missing individuals, after 210 were evacuated from the disaster zone late on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said units from the Georgian Defence Forces would join the ongoing search and rescue operations in the western municipality of Oni to find remaining survivors after a landslide killed at least 11 in the Shovi resort on Thursday.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Friday called on the public to “unite and overcome the tragedy together”, following a landslide that hit western Georgia’s Shovi resort on Thursday and killed at least 11 people.
Diplomats accredited in Georgia on Friday sent their condolences to families of the victims killed in a landslide that hit western Georgia’s Shovi resort on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said his Government had decided to declare Monday as a day of mourning following a landslide that hit western Georgia’s Shovi resort, killing at least seven people on Thursday.
Teams of Georgia’s Red Cross Society on Friday arrived in the Oni municipality of western Georgia to ensure support for rescuers and communities affected by the landslide that hit the Shovi resort on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday met staff of rescue services working in the western municipality of Oni to find remaining survivors after a landslide killed six in the Shovi resort on Thursday.
Ilia II, the Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia’s Orthodox Church on Friday sent his messages of condolence for those killed in a landslide that hit western Georgia’s Shovi resort on Thursday, and shared sympathies for those still missing following the disaster.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Friday said 400 rescuers and two helicopters were involved in the search and rescue operation for about 35 missing individuals after a landslide hit the Oni municipality in the Racha region in the country’s west on Thursday.
Merab Gamkrelidze, the Deputy Head of Regional Development Department of the Government Administration, late on Thursday said the rescuers, working in the disaster area in Georgia’s western Shovi resort, after a landslide hit the area earlier during the day, were currently searching for about 50 missing people, including children.
The ongoing rescue measures in the disaster area in the country’s western Oni municipality, after a landslide hit the area earlier during the day, were discussed at the emergency meeting in the Oni municipality City Hall, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Thursday said about 70 individuals had been transferred to a safe venue from the disaster area as a result of the ongoing rescue operations in the country’s western Oni municipality, after a landslide hit the area earlier during the day.
The Interior Ministry said about 40 individuals have been evacuated from the disaster zone in Georgia’s western Shovi resort, after a landslide hit the area earlier during the day.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Saturday signed a decree declaring Monday as a day of mourning to honour the victims of a landslide that hit western Georgia’s Shovi resort, killing at least 11 people on Thursday.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Saturday said the disaster relief works in the western municipality of Oni, after a landslide killed at least 11 in the Shovi resort on Thursday “continued intensively”, including clearing and restoration works.
Deputy Interior ministers Ioseb Chelidze and Giorgi Butkhuzi, as well as the Head of the Emergency Management Service Temur Mghebrishvili, on Saturday inspected the disaster zone in the western municipality of Oni, after a landslide killed at least 11 in the Shovi resort on Thursday, from the helicopter together with the families of missing persons.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Saturday said the rescuers had found the 16th body during the search and rescue operations in the western municipality of Oni, after a landslide hit Shovi resort on Thursday.
Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze on Sunday said several children were among the victims of the disaster in the western municipality of Oni, after a landslide killed at least 18 in the Shovi resort on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday called the landslide in the Shovi resort of Racha region in western Georgia that claimed at least 18 lives last week a “terrible tragedy” and extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
Two bodies have been recovered and about 50 individuals, including children, evacuated after landslides and flood hit the Guria and Adjara regions in Georgia's west on Thursday and early on Friday, the Georgian Interior Ministry confirmed on Friday.
Rescuers of the Emergency Management Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Friday found the third body in the disaster zone in Georgia's western Guria region, which was hit by landslides and flood this week.
Rescuers have recovered the body of the 32nd victim of the Shovi resort landslide in Georgia’s west, with one person still missing, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Sunday.