Ministry Denies Fact of Death and Injury of Workers in the Construction of Kvesheti-Kobi Tunnel

Independent sources, including people employed in construction, confirmed to the online publication Mtis Ambebi that the ventilation system was not functioning for two days, due to which a large amount of poisonous gas accumulated.

“One of the injured is a local resident. He entered the tunnel by car. When he didn’t come out on time, they went in to look for him. It was about 5 kilometers deep. He was transferred to the hospital with a serious health condition. When they were taking him out, they saw several dead workers there. They banned people from entering the tunnel. The information was kept secret. No one dares to say anything because of fear of losing a job,” locals told us.

The name of an injured person in the tunnel is known to “Mtis Ambebi”. On the condition of confidentiality, eyewitnesses confirmed the fact that he was taken out of the tunnel and taken to the hospital, however, the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, which is under the authority of the Roads Department of Georgia, categorically denied both - the fact of workers death and fact of injuring them under construction tunnel.

“Mtis Ambebi” also addressed the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to MIF, they have no information about the death or injury of workers in the Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel, and accordingly, no investigation has been started.

One worker died from CO poisonous gas and two others were injured last year in the Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel construction in summer. It should be noted that none of the state agencies released any information about the incident at that time, and throughout the day they did not confirm facts of injuries and deaths of workers to “Mtis Ambebi”. Only after publishing information in the media, MIF explained that the investigation is being conducted under Article 240, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which refers to the violation of safety rules during construction or other work, which caused loss of human life or other serious consequences.

Carbon monoxide poisonous gas comes out of the depths as a result of explosions for tunnel construction - it has no smell, no taste, and spreads completely imperceptibly for humans, high concentrations cause severe poisoning or death.

Due to the danger of avalanches, traffic on the Gudauri(post)-Kobi section was prohibited for several days and was restored today, late in the evening.

“Mtis Ambebi” is trying to clarify additional details and the information will be updated.

The construction of the 9-kilometer Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel began in May 2021. As part of the project, a total of 23 km of asphalt-concrete road, 5 bridges, and 5 tunnels should be built. According to the Roads Department, it will reduce the distance between Kvesheti and Kobi by 11 km, and the road will take 15 minutes instead of 1 hour. The total cost of the project is 1.2 billion GEL. The construction is being carried out with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The completion of the project is planned for 2024. The new road passes through the Khada Gorge and is part of the internationally important road connecting Georgia and Russia. Due to heavy snowfall and avalanche danger in Jvari Pass, the existing road, is often closed for several days in a row in winter, and long lines of trucks from Russian, Turkish, Armenian, and Azerbaijani transport companies stand on both sides. When the cross pass is closed, it creates problems for the Kazbegi residents.