Experts Say Operator’s Mistake Caused Gudauri Accident

The preliminary version of the expertise from the world leading Bureau Veritas, reads that the March 16 accident in Georgia’s popular ski resort Gudauri, which left 11 people injured, happened due to the mistake of an operator.

The information was released by Dimitry Kumsishvili, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, on March 23.

While announcing the inspection results of international experts, Kumsishvili said at the press conference that after a voltage drop, the operator should have turned on a nearby diesel generator to bring skiers to a point from where they would have been able to get off and vacate the ski-lift.

The minister explained that the operator, who failed to react on time, had been fired.

Moreover, he added that the Deputy Director of the Mountain Resorts Agency in the technical field and the Head of Gudauri Mountain Management Department also left their positions on the basis of their own decision.

All of the people injured in Gudauri accident have already been discharged from the hospitals. None of them received life threatening wounds.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation into the case of Gudauri in accordance with Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which implies violation of the safety or operation of the railway, water, air or cable traffic movement.

The Georgian government has invited all affected tourists to Gudauri next year for free.

By Thea Morrison

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