All eight people onboard had died as a result of the helicopter crash, Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia said, Trend News Agency reported citing news sources.
"Unfortunately, 8 people died. One person who was paragliding had been injured and a foreign tourist had died”, Gomelauri said.
The helicopter on a rescue operation in Gudauri lost control and crashed in a ravine on Friday. The MIA said 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 center.
The investigation into the violation of air transport traffic rules is underway under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
21:26 (GMT+4) A Georgian border police helicopter on a rescue operation in the winter resort town of Gudauri in the north of the country lost control and crashed in a ravine on Friday, according to the Georgian Interior Ministry.
The ministry said in a statement on its website that totally eight persons including four crew members, two rescuers and two medical staff were on board when the accident happened.
They were on a mission to rescue some paragliders in the ravine, said the statement.
The statement did not elaborate the detailed casualties, only indicating that a rescue operation is going on to relieve the helicopter passengers and the paragliders.
MP/PR
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