Updated: 19:10
After about seven hours of rescue operation the first individual has been found alive in the rubble of a 7-storey residential building collapsed this afternoon in Batumi. The rescuers are currently trying to safely pull the indvidual out of the rubble.
As reported about 300 rescuers are searching for 10-15 in ruins.
Earlier: 17:31
Rescuers are searching for 10-15 people after a large section of a seven-storey residential building collapsed in Batumi this afternoon.
The acting mayor of Batumi Lela Surmanidze told local media outlet Batumelebi that among the missing people there is one bedridden patient woman, 'who might have been at home'.
As reported the rescuers have already saved two children from the ruins, including one newborn. One child injured in the collapse of a building is currently being examined at the Iashvili Central Mothers and Children Hospital in Batumi.
Director of the clinic Tamar Bakhtadze said that in addition to superficial injuries, the child also has a lower limb injury.
Watch rescue operation live by the First Channel:
Head of the Adjara government Tornike Rizhvadze posted on his Facebook page that 'we are fighting to save the life and health of every human being in the rubble'. He added that once the rescue operation is over the causes of 'this horrific accident' will be determined.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili also posted on social media that he will leave for Batumi today and will personally receive information on the ground.
Rescue operations are underway to save the injured from the rubble as soon as possible. The state will provide appropriate assistance to all the injured. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already launched an investigation, which will find the causes of the incident. The Minister of Internal Affairs has already left for Batumi", Garibashvili posted on Facebook.
There were a total of 12 apartments in the collapsed part of the seven-story building.
Some witnesses said the collapse occurred after an explosion, while some local residents said it might have been caused by ongoing repair works on the building's second floor.
Earlier: 12:50
The entrance of a seven-storey residential building located on May 26 Street has collapsed in the old part of the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi about an hour ago.
As locals told Rustavi 2, the residential building had three entrances and only one had collapsed. As reported, about 200 people live in the building, however information about the injured has not been released yet.
The rescuers are going through the rubble and using a ladder to evacuate nearby apartments.
Local media outlet Batumelebi.ge reports that about 10 cars are under ruins, from which a 6-year-old child was rescued alive.