Minister of Internal Affairs on First Night Rescue Operation in Shovi: There Was no Need for Pilots to Risk
By Messenger Staff
Monday, August 14, 2023
"There was no need to risk for the pilots because the helicopter could have crashed," said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, on the suspension of the rescue operation on the first night of the landslide in Racha.
"We have night flight facilities, we have acquired them, we can fly, but there is a very high risk, so to speak, if something really threatens human life at that moment, it is not appropriate for pilots to take risks and it is not allowed, it is simply not possible."
According to him, terrain, valley and mountains are additional risk factors.
According to Gomelauri, the helicopter arrived in the disaster area on time. Rescuers flew to the site within three hours, which is why the response of the rescue service to the disaster received criticism.
"A helicopter is neither a bicycle nor a car, you can't just take off, you need to prepare for it," the minister said.
Gomelauri explained that the state has already purchased three new helicopters and the country will receive the first one in March 2024. the other two by the end of next year.
"You can't buy a helicopter like you can go to the shop and buy a car. There are queues and we have been working for almost a year, we have been working for months. It has already started. We have already bought it. Pilots need to be trained, etc," the minister stated, adding that the existing helicopters are just as capable as the new ones.
Regarding the advanced monitoring systems, the minister said that no matter what technological support we provide, natural disasters "happen within seconds" because "we live in the Caucasus mountains."
"A problem can happen anywhere, water can overflow, unfortunately we cannot escape from that. It's like this throughout the world. What happened in Hawaii, 100 people burned to death and more than 100 are missing. America is a much stronger country than us, they also have better helicopters, aviation than we do, but it happened, it is happening, it's nature, what can we do, it's sad, it's a tragedy," Gomelauri said.
According to official information, 24 dead have been reported. Rescuers are looking for nine more people. Rescuers have already checked 60% of the area. The search area has been expanded and 18 groups of rescuers have been deployed at a distance of 54 kilometers from Shovi.
