A historic six-story apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, experienced a collapse on Sunday, resulting in seven people rescued and an unknown number of people injured.
Emergency responders conducted a secondary search of the property in case any people had become buried in the rubble. At the time of the collapse, reports indicated a large natural gas leak and water leaking from each floor.
In addition to the seven rescues, more than a dozen people were helped to safety. Officials have yet to rule out the possibility of fatalities, as some people remain unaccounted for. The Mayor of Davenport, Mike Matson, said that structural experts were scheduled to examine the building and it is not yet known whether the residents will be able to return to the property.
Rich Oswald, the city’s director of development and neighborhood services, stated that the building had been the subject of numerous complaints and that recent reports of bricks falling had been related to exterior brickwork that the owners had been ordered to repair and upgrade.
Documents show that entities called 324 Main Street Project and the Davenport Project had long been planning improvements to the building. Built in 1907, the building was once home to the Davenport Hotel and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.