CNN
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[Breaking news update, published at 12:17 p.m. ET]
Two people may still be inside a six-story apartment building that partially collapsed Sunday afternoon in Iowa, Davenport’s mayor said midday Tuesday, while three other people also remain missing as rescue efforts continue. continue to hour 36.
“This is an active incident that is very fluid and constantly evolving,” Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said during a press conference as search efforts continued.
A ninth person, Lisa Brooks, was pulled alive from the rubble Monday, Matson confirmed, after city officials announced that demolition plans were expected to move forward. They seem to have been put on hold since then.
It’s still unclear why Brooks wasn’t found sooner, the mayor said: “I don’t know, but please understand, me and the city (are) committed to finding out why.”
[Original story, last published at 11:58 a.m. ET]
After Iowa protesters denounced the impending demolition of a partially collapsed apartment building, saying some residents may still be trapped inside – Davenport city officials appeared to be reconsidering plans to demolish the building Tuesday morning.
The apparent delay came after a ninth person was rescued Monday afternoon, the Quad-City Times reportedhours after city officials said rescue efforts had “transition to a recovery operation.”
The city is “continually evaluating the timing of the demolition” of the six-story building that partially collapsed Sunday afternoon, the city of Davenport said in an update on Tuesday.
“Demolition is a multi-phase process that includes permitting and staging of equipment that will begin today,” the city said. “The timing of the physical demolition of the property is still being assessed. The building remains structurally unsafe and in imminent danger of collapse.”
The city said Monday afternoon that “demolition is expected to begin” Tuesday morning. But officials that night acknowledged “there are countless people who were residents of the property” and Davenport police are continuing to “attempt to contact individuals who are missing.”
With the building’s exterior wall exposed in a wide swath, exposing in one place a bathtub and clothes still hanging in a closet, images of the collapse evoked memories of the condo building’s 2021 collapse in Surfside, Florida, which killed 98 people. Just last month in New York City, a parking lot with property violations collapsed, killing one person and injuring at least five.
The cause of Davenport’s collapse has not been determined, but the building’s owner had current permits to repair the exterior wall, officials said.
Davenport survivor Lisa Brooks had been missing since part of the building broke and collapsed on Sunday. Brooks called her daughter from the fourth floor of the building on Monday Quad-City Times he said, and family members rushed to alert firefighters and police officers to his location.
Firefighters raised a bucket ladder to rescue Brooks, who waved out the window. The crowd cheered and chanted, “Get her out,” the newspaper reported.
Eight other people were rescued earlier from the collapsed building and more than a dozen people managed to evacuate on their own, city officials had said. No deaths have been reported.
“After extensive rescue operations, no confirmed viable signs of life were observed,” the city said in a news release monday night “After multiple rescue evolutions over the course of 24 hours since the incident, crews were unable to find any victims in need of rescue.”
Protesters gathered Monday night after news of the planned demolition, saying some residents could still be trapped, the Quad-City Times reported Some held signs that read, “Who’s in the rubble?” and “Find them first!!”
The owner of the farm has been served with a demolition orderDavenport officials said Monday afternoon.
“The building remains inside imminent danger of collapse with the condition of the site continuing to deteriorate,” the city said in an update Monday night.
“The need to demolish this building stems specifically from our desire to maintain as much safety as possible for the surrounding areas,” said Rich Oswald, the city’s director of Neighborhood and Development Services.
City officials did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for more details about the missing, the demolition plan and the building.
Engineers have been considering how to handle the demolition in Davenport.
“It is the opinion of the structural engineer that the pile of debris is currently contributing to the stability of the building and that its removal could endanger or accelerate the inevitable collapse of the building,” he said. say the city on Monday night.
The damage occurred when the rear section of the apartment building separated from the rest of the structure, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said. Sunday’s collapse caused a large natural gas and water leak that forced emergency crews to halt their search and rescue efforts until utilities could be secured, he said.
Residents will not be allowed to return to the building due to safety concerns, officials said.
The collapse destroyed entire rooms of residents’ cherished possessions and left some without a place to live, they said.
Army veteran Fred Voorhis lost all memories of his 21 years of military service, along with several essential medications, he said. KGAN, CNN affiliate. Voorhis was asleep when the collapse occurred.
“I opened my apartment door and there was daylight. It was supposed to be a hallway,” Voorhis told the affiliate. With her home in ruins, she said she has no idea where she will live.
“There is no backup plan,” he said.
said Paul Stephenson, who was visiting a friend who lived in the building at the time of the collapse CNN affiliate KWQC that he was able to help his friend escape the building, but has not seen him since emergency crews heard from residents Sunday night.
The moment of the collapse was “like a bomb” reverberating throughout the building, he said.
“It was so dark in there. I just knew my way around,” Stephenson said, describing how he helped guide his friend from the rubble but had to leave his phone behind in the chaos.
“I’m still looking for my friend,” he said. “But I know it’s safe because I took it out.”
He said he knows of others, however, who are nervously awaiting word from their loved ones.
Davenport Mayor Mike Matson acknowledged that the collapse is “devastating for the residents of this building and for our community as well.”
“My prayers are with the families of those who remain missing and for a speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.
