TRAGIC

12 Found Dead in Freak Accident at Popular Ski Resort

The victims died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, authorities said.

Twelve people died at a popular ski resort in Georgia from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, the country’s officials announced. The bodies of 11 Indian nationals and one Georgian national were found on Saturday in a sleeping area above an Indian restaurant at Gudauri, a skiing destination in the Caucasus Mountains near the Russian border. A preliminary investigation found no signs of injuries or violence, authorities said, though a generator was found in an enclosed space nearby. Authorities said the generator was likely plugged in the previous day when the restaurant lost power. The deaths will be investigated as negligent homicides. Police said the victims were all employed at the restaurant. The Indian embassy in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, said it was “committed to providing all possible support” to the grieving families and is working to repatriate the bodies of the Indian nationals. Gudauri, which sits at one of the highest points in the Caucasus Mountains, has become a popular alternative to the more expensive European skiing resorts in the Alps.