TBILISI, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A fire which has been spreading in Borjomi in central Georgia has been confined and the situation is now under control, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said Thursday.
"Last night was a very hard night. The intensive fire zones were separated from the healthy part of the forest," the prime minister said in Borjomi, attributing the control of the fire to the firefighters' hard work.
He said over 1,500 firefighters, rescuers and rangers, six helicopters and one firefighting aircraft are still working at the scene.
Dozens of hectares of forests have been burnt down due to the fire in the Borjomi Gorge, the national forest agency estimated.
The cause of the fire, which has been raging for five days, is still unknown. But earlier on Wednesday, a 20-liter canister full of petrol was found in the blazing forest, leading to speculations that the fire was deliberately set.
Georgia's Interior Ministry has started an investigation and said all details would be considered.
