Body of missing man found at Iowa apartment collapse, two still missing.

Tragedy Strikes as Body of Missing Man Found in Collapsed Iowa Apartment Building

“We are doing the best we can to balance the building conditions and the safety of our responders.”

– Fire Chief Mike Carlsten

The city of Davenport, Iowa is reeling after the partial collapse of an apartment building on May 28th. The collapse left three men missing, and tragically, the body of one of those men has now been found. Branden Colvin Sr. was recovered on Saturday, making him the first confirmed fatality in the disaster. Two other men, Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien, are still unaccounted for.

Search for Survivors Ends, Recovery Efforts Begin

Authorities had been searching for survivors in the days following the collapse, but the unstable condition of the building made the search extremely dangerous. After a task force completed a search for survivors on Thursday, attention turned to shoring up the structure so that recovery efforts could begin. The remains of the six-story apartment building were constantly in motion in the first 24 to 36 hours after the collapse, posing a risk to rescuers.

Mayor Mike Matson has said that the debris pile “could be a place of rest for some of the unaccounted.”

Questions Arise About Building Safety

As recovery efforts continue, questions are being raised about why neither the building’s owner nor city officials warned residents about the potential danger, even after a structural engineer’s report indicated that a wall of the century-old building was at imminent risk of crumbling. City officials and the building’s owner had been warned for months that parts of the building were unstable, and tenants had complained about a host of problems that were ignored by property managers.

The tragedy in Davenport serves as a stark reminder of the importance of building safety and the need for swift action when warning signs are present.