Mountaineer's body found after fatal accident in Georgia

Rescuers have recovered the body of Archil Badriashvili, a 34-year-old Georgian alpinist who lost his life in an accident on the Shkhelda peak in Svaneti last week, the Emergency Management Service confirmed.

Badriashvili went missing on the peak at an altitude of approximately 3,800 metres while navigating a rocky slope, after he set off on an expedition with three other mountaineers, with a lightning strike suspected as the cause of his death while he was attempting a descent.

The body said a helicopter crew had been deployed to aid the search this morning, despite “challenging weather conditions” on the ground, before the climber’s body was discovered.

Three other climbers were evacuated to the region’s central town of Mestia using a border police helicopter on August 11.

Georgia’s Emergency Management Service said the incident on the Shkhelda peak was being studied for details.