A Georgian army helicopter MI-24 Hind crashed overnight on March 12 in the Dusheti District of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, about 50 kilometers away from Tbilisi, Levan Nikoleishvili, the Georgian Deputy Defense Minister, said.
Three-member crew – Captain Giorgi Londaridze, Lieutenant Gaga Tkemaladze and Lieutenant Sergo Gvaladze – onboard died, he added.
?The crash was apparently caused by bad weather conditions, and an investigation is currently underway to find out the cause of the accident,? Levan Nikoleishvili said.
He said that that incident occurred at about 02:30 am local time.
The helicopter was en-route to western Georgia following an attack on the villages of upper Kodori Gorge, Levan Nikoleishvili said.
He added that Defense Ministry troops, including the air force, were on high alert after the shelling of the Kodori villages.
President Saakashvili said at an emergency session of the National Security Council on March 12 that the helicopter was en-route to the military base in Senaki in the western region of Samegrelo, which borders with breakaway Abkhazia, ?to reinforce western direction? after attacks on the villages in upper Kodori Gorge.
But, the President said, the helicopter had to return back from the half flight because of the bad weather conditions. It crashed on its way back near the Bazaleti lake in the Dusheti District, Saakashvili said.
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