Iowa apartment building partially collapses, prompting massive rescue effort

An eighth person was rescued overnight Monday after a Davenport, Iowa apartment building partially collapsed Sunday afternoon.

Authorities have not disclosed if anyone was killed or the number of people, if any, that remain trapped after a portion of the six-story apartment complex collapsed and broke away from the rest of the structure.

“Our focus is rescue right now,” Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said at a news conference.

“This is an active scene. We will continue to work, continue to evaluate, with the whole purpose of trying to find people and trying to get them out,” he added, saying Gov. Kim Reynolds offered assistance in the rescue effort.

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Specific numbers were not immediately available, but authorities said several people were treated for injuries at the scene.

Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlsten said crews rescued seven people and escorted more than a dozen others from the building shortly after they were called to the scene Sunday afternoon.

Carlsten also said Red Cross personnel used the St. Anthony’s Church on Main Street as a reunification area.

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The official cause of the collapse was not immediately known, but Carlsten said a gas leak was found after the collapse, and water is believed to have leaked throughout the floors of the structure.

The Davenport Police Department asked people to avoid the downtown area.

During the news conference, City of Davenport Director of Development and Neighborhood Services Rich Oswald said work was being done on the building’s exterior at the time of the collapse.

The owner had a permit for the construction, Oswald said. The Quad-City Times reported the building is owned by Andrew Wold.

Issues with the building were well known by tenants and others in the area as city officials said Sunday several complaints had been filed about it needing repairs.

According to the county assessor’s office, nearly 20 permits were filed in 2022 for repairs, mainly for plumbing or electrical issues.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.