Iowa apartment collapse leaves residents missing, rubble too dangerous to search

Part of the Davenport Hotel collapsed Sunday afternoon. Residents had complained of poor response by building managers to calls for repairs. The city on Tuesday filed new violations against the owner, saying he failed to maintain the property in a “safe, sanitary and structurally sound condition.” (Associated Press)

DES MOINES, Iowa — Five residents of a six-story apartment building that partially collapsed in eastern Iowa remained unaccounted for Tuesday, and authorities feared at least two of them might be stuck inside rubble that was too dangerous to search.

The three other missing residents are not believed to have been in the building when it started collapsing Sunday afternoon, said state Rep. Monica Kurth. Mayor Mike Matson confirmed at a news conference that not all the residents were accounted for.