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Seven people are rescued from the rubble of a historic building in partially collapsed Iowa

2023-05-29T12:41:09.018Z

Highlights: The authorities of the city of Davenport, who are investigating the causes of the accident, do not rule out that there may be some fatalities. Residents of the building had denounced the instability of the structure and the fall of bricks. The crash occurred shortly before 5 p.m. and may have caused a large leak of natural gas and water from each floor, fire chief says. It is unclear whether residents who were evacuated and helped by the Red Cross will soon be able to return to their homes.


The authorities of the city of Davenport, who are investigating the causes of the accident, do not rule out that there may be some fatalities. Residents of the building had denounced the instability of the structure and the fall of bricks.


By Lindsey Pipia and Dennis Romero - NBC News

At least seven people were rescued and an unknown number were injured after a historic six-story apartment building partially collapsed Sunday in Davenport, Iowa, authorities said, not ruling out that the collapse caused some fatalities.

Concern about the possibility that some people were buried in the rubble remained Sunday night, while a second search was carried out in the building, municipal authorities explained at a press conference.

The building, built of bricks and steel, was partially collapsed. Nikos Frazier / AP

The crash occurred shortly before 5 p.m. and may have caused a large leak of natural gas and water from each floor, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said.

"A part of the back building had actually collapsed, separated from the building," he said.

In addition to the seven rescued, more than a dozen people were treated by emergency teams as they left the building, he said. So far, all had been treated at the scene, indicating the injuries were relatively minor, the fire chief added.

The authorities, however, do not rule out that the accident has caused some fatalities. "There are people missing," Mayor Mike Matson said.

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Authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse and a group of experts on city structures is expected to examine the building soon, Matson said. It is unclear whether residents who were evacuated and helped by the Red Cross will soon be able to return to their homes.

"We're not sure about the stability of the building," Carlsten acknowledged. "Even while at the scene we had multiple secondary drops of debris coming from that structure," he revealed.

The building is constructed of brick on steel and concrete, according to municipal public records.

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Rich Oswald, the city's director of development and neighborhood services, said the property had "permit issues" for exterior masonry. In addition, the owners had received orders from the city council to make specific repairs and improvements, he said.

Some of the restoration work was related to reports of falling bricks, he said. The condition of the building, located in downtown Davenport, was the subject of numerous complaints from residents, as authorities acknowledged at the press conference.

"The tenants of this building are very active," Oswald said, "they have called the city numerous times with complaints."

[Video: Shocking images of building collapsing after landslide]

It was not immediately clear who owned the collapsed building. City documents show entities called the 324 Main Street Project and the Davenport Project have long planned improvements to the building while seeking tax breaks.

The building, located in the Cork Hill district, was completed in 1907 and housed the Davenport Hotel, the best accommodation the city had at that time. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-05-29

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