WATCH: Crowds of rescuers cheer as child is lifted out from under concrete slab in rubble of collapsed Georgian apartment building

Rescue workers and bystanders let out a jubilant cry on Friday morning in Georgia’s second city, Batumi, after a child was saved from beneath the wreckage of a collapsed residential building, where other people remain trapped.

Local authorities initially believed eight people were still unaccounted for, four of them children. However, in a statement later on Friday, the head of the country’s Interior Ministry said that as many as 15 people could be buried. The total number of victims, however, is reportedly still being determined.

In a video posted from the scene, a group of people can be seen lifting a fallen concrete slab, before pulling free a young child.

Another clip, posted on social media, shows a woman being helped down from a crane by emergency service workers.

The five-story building collapsed on Friday morning, with ambulance teams and firefighters racing to the scene. Media reports initially indicated that an unknown number of people were believed to be under the rubble, including children.

No information about the cause of the collapse has been made available, but several similar incidents have happened in recent weeks, with dozens of families being evacuated from their homes.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!