2017-08-23
During today's meeting of the Emergency Headquarters, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili familiarized himself with information on last night's firefighting measures in the Borjomi and Ateni Gorges. The fire has been localized in the Ateni Gorge. To extinguish the fire, the Interior Ministry's armed forces, along with both human forces and heavy machinery, continue their operations in the gorge. Although the fire area has diminished significantly, some areas remain active. Last night, firefighting and rescue teams and employees of the National Forestry Agency and the Interior Ministry's Special Tasks Department worked on red alert in the gorge, with heavy machinery also operating non-stop. Five helicopters resumed operations this morning. The helicopter dispatched by Turkey is already engaged in the firefighting operations, along with 95 and 70 firefighters/rescuers from Azerbaijan and Armenia, respectively, to help their Georgian colleagues in extinguishing the fire. The operations also involve heavy machinery from Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Emergency Headquarters meeting was attended by Interior Minister Giorgi Mghebrishvili, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Zurab Alavidze, Energy Minister Ilia Eloshvili, Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili, Chair of the State Security and Crisis Management Council Mindia Janelidze, Samtskhe-Javakheti Governor Akaki Machutadze, and other members of the Government. The meeting was held at the Interior Ministry's field headquarters for emergency management.
Prime Minister's Press Office