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TBILISI, DFWatch–In the last week, three traffic accidents have claimed the lives of seven people in Georgia, including a 12-year-old boy, while three were injured.

The latest accident took place August 21, on the Gori highway near the so-called Tskhinvali bridge. A trailer and a small Mercedes crashed and both vehicles caught fire. Two women and a child in a small car died. A woman and her 12-year-old son burned to death inside the car, while a woman died on the way to the hospital.

August 16, a light vehicle and a trailer crashed on the Kutaisi-Samtredia highway in western Georgia. Three youth died. All three were in the same light car.

The accident happened on the same section of road where rugby players and their wives were in an accident August 15, when four died. Rugby player Giorgi Lominadze and his wife are still in a grave condition.

After each of the three accidents, an investigation was opened for violation of traffic rules, article 257 of the Criminal Code.

Vaso Urushadze, executive director of Eco Transport Center, tells DFWatch that the road section where two of last week’s fatal accidents took place is a ‘black stain’ on the country, because single lane traffic unexpectedly shifts into two-way traffic and this increases the risk of accidents.

The Interior Ministry recorded 6,432 traffic accidents in Georgia last year, 2,995 of which happened in Tbilisi. 602 people died, while 9,187 were injured.

In the last five years, 2,758 people have died in traffic accidents, as the number of accidents has gradually increased (see chart).