The bodies of the three men missing since the partial collapse of an apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, on May 28 have been recovered, authorities said.
City officialsconfirmed in a press conferenceon Monday that the bodies of Ryan Hitchcock, 51, and Daniel Prien, 60, have been found in the rubble.
In the week since the building’s collapse, family members have been distraught as city leaders have worked to search for survivors.
Branden Colvin Sr.’s 18-year-old son, Branden Colvin Jr., slept outside the apartment building in the days after the incident, as he and other family members awaited word of his father’s condition,he told CNN.
On Saturday, the same day that he received the news of his father’s death, Colvin Jr. graduated from high school.
“He’s proud of me. He is the reason I was even able to have enough strength to walk across the stage,” Colvin Jr. told CNN. “I walked across that stage today knowing my dad is proud of me and will forever be proud of me.”
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Officials fear that the building is in imminent danger of further collapse. Plans to demolish the remaining structure to secure the area’s safety were met with protests last week, as some argued that the city should stop its demolition plans amid the search for survivors.Speaking out last week, Hitchcock’s family members argued that “pushing any delays is one more day he’s under there, going through all this.”
“Ryan wouldn’t want anyone else to put their lives at risk, too,” said cousin Amy Anderson, who added it’s likely he “has not survived.”
At Monday’s press conference, city leaders said the victims’ bodies would be sent to the morgue for autopsies, before they would be released to the families.
Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP
Davenport officials added that they “are working with multiple structural experts around the country” to assist with continued demolition efforts of the site.
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source: people.com
