TBILISI: 12 people, including 11 Indians, have been found dead in a mountain restaurant in Gudauri, Georgia. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia issued a statement saying that there were no injuries on the bodies of those who died in the restaurant and no evidence of violence. All of them died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The Indian Mission in Tbilisi has confirmed the accident and said that apart from a local girl, 11 Indians are also among the dead. There are also 10 Punjabis among them. They have been identified as Gurvinder Kaur, Amrinder Kaur, Maninder Kaur, Gagandeep Singh, Ravinder Pal, Varinder Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sameer Kumar, Harvinder Singh, Pritam Lal, Ravinder Kumar. Ravinder Singh and Gurvind Kaur are husband and wife and residents of Sunam. Sameer Kumar is a resident of Bilawali Chapadi area of Khanna. The 11th Indian is from Uttarakhand.
According to sources, after this incident, security has been increased in the area and no one is being allowed to enter the restaurant. The police have taken all the documents of the deceased into their custody and at present all the bodies are in the custody of the police. The administration is also contacting the families of the deceased and documentary work is being done to hand over the bodies to their families.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, all the victims of the accident worked at the Mansion restaurant. According to initial investigation, a generator was kept in a small space near the bedroom in the indoor area, which was switched on after the power failure on Friday night. According to Kuldeep Singh, a family member of Ravinder Singh of Sunam, who died in the accident, they had received information that the electricity in the restaurant had gone out due to the storm on Sunday night. After finishing the restaurant work, all the employees sleep there at night. They had heaters running on a generator. When the room was closed, all 12 people died due to gas rising due to smoke from the generator. The accident came to light when an employee reached there with the goods, but after seeing the restaurant closed, he informed the owner.
The Indian Mission has issued a statement expressing its condolences to the families of the deceased. The mission is in touch with the local authorities and efforts are being made to get information about the deceased. As far as possible, their families will be provided help. Police have launched an investigation under Georgia Penal Code Section 116 to determine negligence.