Official death toll from Tbilisi flood soars to 13, nine unaccounted for
Yet another body has been found in Georgia as a result of a flood that hit the country's capital a day earlier. The latest find brings the official death toll to 13.
According to the Georgian media, the body of a 78-year-old man, Gruram Petriashvili, was found at his house in Svanidze Street, which was hit hardest in Tbilisi, at around 2 p.m. Moscow time.
Meanwhile, according to unofficial figures, this is already the 16th victim of the flood. Another 20 have gone missing.
"The body of a thirteenth flood victim was found today," Zviad Katsashvili, Director of the Interior Ministry's Crisis Management Center, told reporters on Monday.
"We are searching for nine missing people," he added.
A heavy rain with hail hit Tbilisi in the early hours on June 14, flooding residential buildings and roads and damaging infrastructure. The disaster hit a local zoo. Many animals were killed, some fled. Predators strolled down streets and many of them were shot dead by police. Some animals were returned to the zoo.