Zookeepers Killed, Animals Escaped in Georgian Flood
TBILISI, Georgia, June 14 (UPI) — At least ten people are dead and escaped zoo animals remain missing in Georgian capital, Tbilisi, where heavy downpours triggered raging floodwaters on Sunday.
Zoo officials initially reported that at least half of their nearly 600 animal residents were missing, after floodwaters burst open gates and ripped apart fencing. Two zookeepers were among those killed.
“Heavy rainfall, which started before midnight, turned normally small stream, Vere, which runs in the Tbilisi center across Vake and Saburtalo districts, into a raging river,” reported Civil.ge, a news agency funded by the EU and the UN.
Georgia is a small country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, sandwiched between Russia and Turkey.
Some of the animals have been tranquilized and recaptured, and several have been killed or found dead. But many animals remain on the streets. A number of lions, tigers, bears and wolves are all still missing.
Widely reported images showed a hippo being cornered in the town square before being shot with a tranquilizer gun.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs have warned residents of Tbilisi to stay inside until all the animals are accounted for. That request has proven difficult for a number of people, as dozens have been left homeless by the flood.
While zoo officials search for missing animals, rescue workers in the Georgian capital were checking wreckage for trapped residents.
“These floods are something we have never seen before,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said in a statement issued on television. “It’s a terrible situation in the capital. We are mobilizing the municipality and the police.”
