Tbilisi.- At least six people died and another 31 are missing due to a landslide in the mountainous resort of Shovi, in northern Georgia, the Georgian Ministry of Interior reported today.
The natural disaster, which occurred last night, devastated the resort, located next to the Chankaji River, from which more than 200 people have already been evacuated by helicopter.
“Rescuers continue to search for the missing,” said Infrastructure Minister of Georgia Irakli Karseladze.
According to the calculations of the specialists, the landslide involved more than five million cubic meters of earth and rocks.
“It is the largest known natural disaster in western Georgia, except for the 1991 earthquake in the Racha region.”said the geologist Merab Gaprindashvili in statements to local media from Shovi.
According to Gaprindashvli, the landslide was caused by torrential rains in recent days, added to the thawing of two glaciers in the Caucasus Mountains near Shovi.
