On July 14, the Public Defender made a comment on the explosion in Tbilisi, Gldani district, as a result of which five persons were killed, several persons were injured and the apartment block was seriously damaged. The Ombudsman extended his sincere condolence to the families of the deceased.

According to the available information, the investigation on the mentioned fact is being conducted in accordance with the article #240¹ of the Penal Code of Georgia which concerns the violation of safety rules at the stage of design, building, installation and exploitation of the facilities of electricity or thermal energy, gas, oil or petroleum products.

It is vital to conduct a thorough, effective and timely investigation on this matter to determine the causes of this tragedy and a special attention shall be paid to whether there had been a violation of safety rules. The investigation bodies shall provide the public with updated information about the results of the investigation, without any prejudice to the interests of the investigation.

Therewith, all measures shall be taken to restore the damaged apartment block by adhering to all necessary safety rules and based on the corresponding researches, in order to ensure the safety of the people living there.