Chairman of ruling party of Georgia questions stories of Shovi landslide survivor

Kobakhidze on tragedy survivor

The chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, responded to a post on social media by David Geladze, a survivor of the devastating landslide at the resort in Shovi. According to Kobakhidze, the photo posted by Geladze needs to be verified, since it was almost impossible to cross from one side of the river to the other.

In the very first minutes of the disaster in Shovi, a photograph was circulated on social networks in which a child struggles with the elements. Survivors said that they tried to save the child for almost three hours with the help of local residents.

Later, David Geladze published a photo of his niece Anastasia and wrote that the girl fought the landslide alone for four hours. According to him, he and his other niece Masho crossed together from one bank of the river to the other.

“I don’t know why it was necessary to cross from one coast to another, because it was safer to stay on that coast. The other day we were in the same area, and it is almost impossible to go from one coast to another. The details of this photo are debatable,” Kobakhidze says.

In addition, he called the claim about a child who fought for her life for three hours a lie:

“Incorrect information was spread that, for example, one of the children struggled with a landslide for three hours. This is an incredible lie. It is simply impossible for the processes there to develop in this way. The disaster happened instantly, and, unfortunately, the people who were under the landslide had no chance of surviving. Talk about someone fighting the disaster for three hours is just an empty lie.”

David Geladze reacted to Kobakhidze’s statement saying that no one has ever insulted him like that:

“I feel very offended. Today’s statement by Kobakhidze shocked me, completely destroyed me. It turns out that everything I said was a lie, I lied to everyone. I am very nervous and excited. I have never been so insulted.

I did not expect such a statement. Irakli Kobakhidze framed me and destroyed the survivors. I can’t understand why he blames me. Maybe he doesn’t want the horror that happened to be made public,” Geladze said on the air of the Formula TV channel.

• Tragedy in Shovi: What happened and could the loss of lives have been prevented?
• “Predicting the disaster at the Shovi Resort was impossible” – Georgian Ministry of Environment
• Nighttime helicopter inactivity explained – first statement from Georgian Interior Minister since Shovi tragedy

On August 3, a landslide occurred at the Shovi resort in Georgia, including on the territory of the Sunset Shove hotel. The overflowing river demolished the road bridge. Two rescue helicopters flew to the aid of the population. Rescue work continues to this day. According to official information, 24 people died as a result of the natural disaster.

According to the conclusion of the National Environment Agency, the cause of the tragedy was the coincidence of several natural geological and hydrometeorological events that led to the formation of an extreme mudflow in the valley of the Bubiscali River.

In particular, landslide processes have been facilitated by climate change – the recent increase in air temperature has led to intensive melting of glaciers and an excess of precipitation.

As stated in the conclusion, although the formation of landslide processes was caused by the coincidence of many factors, however, the catastrophe that occurred directly on the day of the tragedy developed instantly. According to the conclusion, the widespread opinion that damming was observed in the river gorge shortly before the tragedy is not confirmed.

The National Environment Agency says there is no danger at this stage.

Kobakhidze on tragedy survivor