A woman was rescued from a six-story building in Davenport, Iowa, which collapsed last weekend – but only after having a leg removed.
The 116-year-old building which housed 53 tenants partly collapsed in downtown Davenport on Sunday.
On Thursday, city officials said three people remained unaccounted for.
A statement said: “It is believed these three individuals have high probability of being home at the time of the collapse and their apartments were located in the collapse zone.”
City officials added: “The stability of the building continues to degrade. The recovery of any unaccounted for individuals remains the priority of the city as operational planning progresses.”
Quanishia “Peach” Berry was trapped in the rubble for several hours before rescuers found her. Rescuers determined that in order to pull her free they would have to amputate one leg. Her wife, Lexus Berry, who was also in the building when it collapsed, approved the amputation, the Associated Press reported. Peach Berry was taken to hospital.
Speaking to the AP, Lexus Berry described the collapse.
“The moment that we hit the door it started to shake and rattle and literally – it all just happened in the blink of a second – the floors caved in, like collapsed.
“So as the floors were falling, and she was falling four stories down, there were still two stories above her falling and two stories falling above me. It was all crumbling.”
Lexus Berry thought she would never see her wife again.
“It’s definitely … like a miracle that she’s here,” she said. “Due to the circumstances, [rescuers] had to make a judgment call [about amputating her leg]. And that’s the best thing for her, honestly, because she’s still here.”
Several residents were in the 80-unit building when it collapsed. Toriana Hill and her three-year-old son, Nassir Gladney, were in their top-floor apartment when their dog, Luna, started to bark. Hill checked the hallway, to discover the lights were out and neighbors were screaming.
“It was bricks already falling so I’m like, ‘How the hell am I going to do this, how the hell am I going to do this?’” she told the AP.
“I just kept running. I kept running until I hit the first floor, and by the time I made it to the door, I don’t know if it was the police officer or the fireman [who] snatched me up, but I was just happy I made it out.”
Michael Carlsten, the Davenport fire chief, said the back of the building collapsed, adding that authorities also found a gas leak and water leaks throughout the building.
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Several animals were rescued and sent to the Scott County Humane Society, ABC reported.
On Wednesday, the city released documents including violation notices and residential complaints. One document was an inspection report by Select Structural Engineering which the Quad-City Times reviewed.
The report stated: “On the west face of the building, there are several large patches of clay brick façade which are separating from the substrate. These large patches appear ready to fall imminently, which may create a safety hazard to cars or passersby.”
The report emphasized the need to secure the facade, in order to “keep the entire face of the building from falling away when the bottom areas come loose”.
Speaking to the Quad-City Times, Ryan Shaffer, co-owner of a masonry company doing work nearby, said the building owner, Andrew Wold, approached him for a quote for possible work but rejected it because it was too high.
“He wanted to cut the cost by cutting out the shoring and supporting of the building,” Shaffer said, adding: “I said, ‘If we don’t do it this way exactly, I’m not putting my guys in there. Somebody is going to die.’”
On Tuesday, Wold was cited by the city for “failing to maintain the building at 324 Main Street in a safe, sanitary and structurally sound condition”, the newspaper said, citing county records.
In a statement, Wold and two property managers said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with our tenants and families during this difficult time.”
They also thanked rescuers and said they were “working closely with American Red Cross and other agencies to assist the displaced tenants affected by this event”.