Building collapse in Iowa leaves 5 people still unaccounted for

A six-story building partially collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, on Sunday, leaving 5 people still unaccounted for, with 2 still believed to be trapped inside.

Fire crews rushed to the scene at around 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to Chief Michael Carlsten of the Davenport Fire Department. Carlsten also stated that more than a dozen people were initially escorted out of the building, while seven more were rescued. One more person was rescued later the same day, during a secondary search.

It was announced on Monday afternoon that the rescue mission had turned into a recovery operation and plans were being made for the demolition of the building to start the next day. However, a ninth person was rescued the same day and the plans had to be postponed.

Larry Sandhaas, a structural engineer commissioned by the city, stated that the building was constructed with bricks and steel more than a hundred years ago. Sandhaas also said that the pile of debris is holding up the building but “we need to be careful because this building is going to collapse”.

The New York Times reported that according to the city’s director of development and neighborhood services, Rich Oswald, that a structural engineer had submitted reports to the city in January and a week prior to the collapse describing it as “structurally sound”.

The reasons behind the collapse have not been known so far.