During the construction of the Kvesheti–Kobi road, five employees of a construction company—citizens of Turkmenistan and China—were trapped under a collapsed mass of earth while work was underway on a retaining wall near the village of Tskere, according to the Roads Department of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Georgia.

The agency reports that four bodies have been recovered and one injured person has been transported to a clinic. Emergency Situations Management Service teams and representatives of the Roads Department are currently mobilised at the site. An investigation into the incident has been launched.

“The Roads Department requires the contractor company to strictly adhere to safety standards and regulations during the work. The Roads Department expresses its condolences to the families of the deceased,” the agency said in a statement.