Davenport Iowa building collapse latest: Rescue survivor loses leg as two more feared trapped in Davenport rubble

An intensive search is underway to rescue survivors of an apartment building collapse in Davenport, Iowa.

Part of a red-brick building on the city’s main street collapsed around 5pm on Sunday, with shocking photographs showing at least a quarter of the structure’s units destroyed. As of Monday morning, a total of 8 people have been rescued from the rubble.

Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlston said during a press conference that no deaths had been reported and the number of missing was unknown.

The cause of the collapse has not been determined, but Mr. Carlston said residents received several 911 calls reporting a “strong smell of gas.”

A man who survived a partially collapsed building in Davenport, Iowa, has revealed that his leg was amputated by rescuers trying to save his wife.

Lexus and Guanitia Perry were filming a crack between a wall and a bathroom door when the back of their building caved in around 5pm on Sunday. Lexus was not hit by part of the building that collapsed, but within seconds his wife and two cats disappeared under the rubble.

After the tragedy, first responders worked tirelessly to evacuate the tenants, initially rescuing seven people from the rubble. For the first 12 hours when authorities were unable to locate Guanythia, his wife stayed in the area, anxiously awaiting updates and hoping that Guanythia had survived the ordeal.

On Monday morning, search crews found Guanitia trapped in the rubble.

The city has been in contact with building owner Andrew Woldt, Mr Morris said on Tuesday.

Government agencies are coordinating which agency will lead the investigation, but no criminal charges have yet been filed.

Iowa court records reviewed The Independent Mr. Woldt and Davenport Hotels LLC were listed as defendants in a civil enforcement action brought by the city of Davenport on May 30, Wednesday shows show.

Mr Wold was fined $300 for failing to keep the building in a “safe, sanitary and structurally sound condition”. WQAD reports.

When permit records for a collapsed Iowa building were mysteriously changed after the tragedy last weekend, city officials blamed a “computer glitch.” Skeptical members of the community do not believe this is wrong.

Five tenants are still unaccounted for after most of a six-story apartment building in Davenport collapsed Sunday night. Officials say they now face a challenging decision as engineers warn another collapse of the remaining structure is “imminent” – but at least two men, Ryan Hitchcock and Brandon Davis, are feared trapped in the existing rubble.

The announcement of the demolition plan less than 24 hours after the collapse sparked outrage within the community, where protesters had gathered at the site, even before city officials acknowledged that many residents could not be found. The eleventh-hour rescue of the tenant, who had passed out under the bed and awoke to the sound of the family screaming his name, heightened fears that the men might be alive under the rubble.

Experts said the structure, built in the 1900s, was too unstable. Officials said that due to the building’s layout, the rear brick section holds most of the burglary structure together, leaving no voids where trapped victims could defend.

Officials said its fragile condition has worsened over time and the possibility of another collapse is imminent.

Officials said the building was undergoing permitted repairs at the time of the tragedy.

Davenport, Iowa city officials admitted that five residents of a building that collapsed this weekend are still unaccounted for — a day after announcing plans to demolish the unstable structure.

The rear of The Davenport, a six-story apartment complex at 324 Main Street, collapsed around 5 p.m. Sunday after several complaints of bricks falling from the building and residents’ living conditions.

As of Tuesday morning, nine people had been rescued from the wreckage, Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlston said. Lisa Brooks was the ninth person to be rescued in the early hours of Tuesday, more than 24 hours after the collapse – after Mr Carlston said on Monday evening that “no one was believed to be trapped” under the rubble.

“She’s at home and she’s fine now. She was dead under the bed and the only reason she woke up was because we were shouting her name,” said Pauletta Joanna, Mrs Brooks’ niece. The Independent.

Davenport Mayor Mike Madsen admitted during a press conference Tuesday that the occupants of the Davenport Police Department building did not account for the five people. Two of them, Ryan Hitchcock and Brandon Colvin, are feared still in the building.