A search and rescue is currently ongoing following a building collapse Sunday evening in Davenport, Iowa.
Authorities shared that a six-story apartment building partially collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. local time. Seven people were rescued initially but as of Monday morning, it was confirmed that an eighth person was pulled out overnight, officials said. “We are currently finishing the rescue phase of our operation and soon it will become a recovery operation,” Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said Monday morning. It was noted that Canines were also brought in to help, per local reports.
As of right now, it’s not clear how many people may be unaccounted for or how many residents are displaced. It was noted that some residents were able to “self evacuate.” The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined either.
“I live in the building just next to it, and we heard just like a large crash,” Andrew Sommer, a former tenant of The Davenport, told CNN News affiliate KWQC. “Shortly after, we went outside and saw the whole section of the building gone.”
Recalling the scary moment, fourth floor residents Berry, 27, and her wife, Quanishia White-Berry said on they Saturday began to notice separation between the windowsill and the brick of their apartment.
“We both grab our cats, she grabbed one, I grabbed one, got to the door,” Berry said. “I watched her, and everything just fell down and everything fell on top of me, and I barely made it out the door … I got out, but there was nothing left but where I was standing at. Everything else was gone, they told QCTimes.
“I took the stairwell to get out, but my wife is still in there, my cats are still there,” Berry said, gesturing toward the collapsed building.”
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Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlsten further explained at a news conference this Monday that it was the back of the six-story apartment complex that collapsed and had separated from the building, which houses apartments on the upper floors and businesses on the ground level. Carlsten added that authorities found a gas leak after the collapse, while water also had leaked throughout the floors of the structure.
The stability of the building was a big concern following secondary collapses while rescuers were at the scene, the news site notes.
Building Issues Before The Collapse
While sharing details about the building’s known condition, Richard Oswald, the city’s neighborhood services director confirmed that
its owners had current permits for repair work for the exterior wall. “Currently, the building owner did have permits to make exterior wall repairs under the direction of their hired engineer,” Oswald said. However, reports of bricks falling from the building were made earlier this week and were planned to be part of that work, Oswald added.
The building remains structurally unsound and not safe for first responders, officials said. No deaths have been confirmed and there’s no credible information that anyone is missing. Still, responders are continuing a thorough search to make sure.
“When something like this happens here, and tragedy strikes, our responders immediately do their work and their job and I can’t thank them enough,” Davenport Mayor Mike Matson previously said.
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