bakhmaro_avalanche_Jan-2015

Bakhmaro. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–One person is believed to have been taken by an avalanche in Bakhmaro, in the Guria region of western Georgia.

The victim was part of a group of four youth who were visiting the winter resort on December 31. All of them are still missing and rescue workers are conducting a search.

The four got lost on January 2 several kilometers from Bakhmaro at 2,300 meters height above sea level. Three of them contacted Khulo municipality for help.

Guria News, a local media outlet, reports that one of them died in an avalanche. The remaining three are sheltered in a barn with firewood and a stove.

There is clearance work underway several places in Georgia due to the bad weather, according to the Infrastructure Ministry’s roads department.

Among affected stretches of road are Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi and Gudauri-Kobi. Traffic is currently allowed on these two roads for all types of vehicles, but only by use of snow chains.

In Dariali valley, vehicles are prohibited from stopping. Traffic on this road was stopped earlier due to the danger of avalanche.