Rescuers at scene after residential building collapses in Georgia's Batumi, reports of people under rubble, including children

Emergency services are responding after part of a five-story apartment building collapsed in Georgia's second city, Batumi, on Friday, with reports indicating that an unknown number of people are injured or trapped beneath rubble.

Ambulance teams and firefighters have since been called to the scene, while police have set up a cordon around the site. Videos shared online show rescue workers using heavy machinery to try and sift through the wreckage of the building.

Local media reports that residents, potentially including children, may be buried beneath the rubble. No information about the causes of the collapse have yet been made public.

Earlier this week, a residential building in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, collapsed, with four families escaping injury but losing their homes.

In August, 90 separate households were evacuated from their apartments after a slope near the building collapsed during construction work, sparking fears it could weaken its foundations.