Rescues search for people unaccounted for after after Iowa apartment collapse

Crews are on a desperate search for unaccounted people after a partial apartment building collapse in Iowa.

The collapse was reported around 5pm Sunday in Davenport, Iowa. The building on Main Street was home to about 80 apartments.

Robert Robinson lived on the complex’s second floor and just returned from a smoke break outside when part of the building fell.

‘When we started to go back in the lights went out,’ Robinson. ‘All of a sudden everybody started running out saying the building collapsed. I´m glad we came down when we did.’

Officials at the scene Sunday evening said 12 people were helped away from the structure, and another seven had to be rescued.

Crews were searching through the rubble as some people are unaccounted, but officials have not said how many are missing.

Part of a six-story apartment building collapsed in Davenport, iowa, Sunday afternoon

Officials said there are unaccounted for people, but not how many, as crews search the rubble for missing tenants

The extent of the injuries among people who were inside the building when it collapsed is unknown.

Several current and former tenants told the Quad City Times that the building had issues in the past.

‘It sounds bad, but we have been calling the city and giving complaints since December. Our bathroom caved in December,’ Jennifer Smith told the outlet.

Davenport’s director of development and neighborhood services Rich Oswald said the building’s owners had permits to make reports to the exterior bricks before the collapse, according to KWQC.

There were reports of bricks falling from the building earlier in the week that was part of the work, he said.

The building’s owner, Andrew Wold, has yet to comment on the collapse.

Police and rescue crews remained on scene Sunday night as they asked people to avoid the downtown area.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk