Georgian athlete's corpse to be taken home on Feb. 17

He says that the plane will leave Canada at 03:00 and arrive in Tbilisi through Germany on Feb, 17.

The state will cover the transfer and funeral expenses of Nodar Kumaritashvili.

Member of Georgian Olympic team, Nodar Kumaritashvili's sled flipped and he smashed into a steel pole at the Whistler Sliding Centre, killing the 21-year-old.

It happened hours before the ceremony to open the Vancouver Games.

Kumaritashvili’s sled struck the inside of the track’s last turn during his sixth and final training run, sending his body into the air and over a concrete wall.

He was the fourth athlete to die during Winter Olympics preparations, after British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski and Australian skier Ross Milne, and Swiss speed skier Nicolas Bochatay.

/Georgian Times/