Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has declared July 30 a day of mourning after the border police helicopter on a rescue operation in Gudauri crashed, killing eight people.

The PM expressed “sincere condolences and support to the family members and relatives of the deceased, to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to our public.”

All eight people on board, the crew, rescuers, and first aid responders had died in the crash, Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said.

The rescue helicopter, which had been called to assist paragliders fell into the ravine, lost control, and crashed in a ravine. One paraglider had been injured and a foreign tourist had died, Gomelauri noted.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also extended their condolences to the family members and relatives of the deceased.

Each& every one of us is truly devastated by the tragic helicopter crash in #Gudauri that took the lives of 8 heroes, the heroes that lost their lives while rushing to save others. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims& to the entire🇬🇪. We stand united in grief.

— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) July 29, 2022

Words can not express the sorrow of loosing the finest members of our society – pilots, rescuers & medics in the helicopter crash in #Gudauri. My deepest condolences to their families & entire Georgia. May the love & respect of those passed help us through these difficult days.

— Shalva Papuashvili 🇬🇪 (@shpapuashvili) July 29, 2022