Twelve people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a ski resort in Georgia, police have said.
The bodies of 11 foreigners and one Georgian national were found in a sleeping area above a restaurant at the ski station of Gudauri in the north of the country, according to officials.
Police said “preliminary tests do not indicate any trace of violence on the bodies” and it appeared to be an accident, the AFP news agency reported.
Gudauri is the largest and highest ski resort in the former Soviet state.
An investigation has now been launched into the deaths. The ministry is reportedly treating the deaths as involuntary manslaughter, which carries a prison sentence of three to five years in the event of the deaths of more than two people.
Investigators discovered that a power generator located close to the 12 rooms was switched on the day before following a power outage. “An oil-powered generator was turned on after the building lost electricity” on Friday, police said. They are now trying to establish whether this could have been the cause of the carbon monoxide build-up.
Autopsies have now been ordered to establish the exact cause of death of the victims. Their identities have not yet been released.
Gudauri is the largest and highest ski resort in the former Soviet state. It is located on the south-facing plateau of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range. It lies 75mi north of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, at an elevation of 7,200ft above sea level.