TBILISI, Georgia 

Eight people were killed when a border police helicopter crashed during a rescue operation in northern Georgia, the country’s interior minister said on Friday. 

“Unfortunately, eight people died, one person was injured. A foreign tourist, for whom a rescue operation was being carried out, also died,” Vakhtang Gomelauri said.

He said the injured person “is alive and being transported” to a hospital.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has declared a day of mourning over the crash, which occurred in the northern Gudauri ski resort.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry extended “condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to the friendly government and people of our neighbor Georgia.”  

* Writing by Gozde Bayar