Global Courant 2023-05-29 09:53:31
Part of a historic six-story apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, collapsed on Sunday, saving seven people and injuring an unknown number of others, officials said.
Concerns about the possibility that some could be buried in the rubble persisted Sunday night while a secondary search was underway, city officials said at a news conference.
The collapse just before 5 p.m. may have caused a large natural gas leak and water seepage from every floor, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said.
“Part of the back building had actually collapsed, separated from the building,” he said.
Spectators watch rescue crews work at the site of a partial building collapse Sunday on Main Street in Davenport, Iowa. Nikos Frazier/AP
In addition to seven rescues, more than a dozen people were helped by first responders as they exited the building, he said. So far, all had been treated at the scene, Carlsten said, pointing to relatively minor injuries.
But officials did not rule out possible deaths. “There are people missing,” said Mayor Mike Matson.
The cause of the collapse was under investigation. The city’s structural experts were expected to examine the building, Matson said. It is not clear whether residents, who were evacuated and helped by the Red Cross, would be able to return.
“We’re not really sure how stable the building is,” Carlsten said. “Even while we were on site, multiple secondary debris droplets were emanating from that structure.”
The building is built of brick over steel and concrete, according to the city’s public library.
Rich Oswald, the city’s director of development and neighborhood services, said ownership of the property had “permit issues” for exterior masonry. In addition, he said, the owners were under orders from the city to make specific repairs and upgrades.
Reports of falling rocks in recent days were related to that work, he said. The condition of the downtown Davenport building was the subject of numerous complaints from residents, officials acknowledged at the news conference.
“The tenants of this building are quite active,” Oswald said. “They’ve called the city countless times with complaints.”
Ownership of the building could not be immediately established. City documents sHow that entities called 324 Main Street Project and the Davenport Project have long planned improvements to the building while seeking tax breaks.
The building, in the Cork Hill District, was completed in 1907 and was home to the Davenport Hotel, the city’s premier accommodation at the time. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Michelle Acevedo and Tavleen Tarrant contributed.
