CNN —
Rescuers are scrambling to find anyone who might be trapped after a six-story apartment building partially collapsed Sunday in Davenport, Iowa.
Crews have found gas and water leaks amid the wreckage at the building, known as The Davenport, officials said. It’s not clear how many people are still unaccounted for or how many residents have been displaced.
“This is an active scene, we will continue to work, continue to evaluate, and with the whole purpose of trying to find people and trying to get them out,” Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said Sunday night at a news conference.
The building’s owners had current permits for repair work for the exterior wall, said Richard Oswald, the city’s neighborhood services director.
The integrity of the building is of concern, Matson and Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said. The cause of the collapse has yet to be announced.
Crews were dispatched to the scene around 4:55 p.m. Sunday, Carlsten said. Part of the back of the building had collapsed and detached from the rest of the building, he said.
“I live in the building just next to it, and we heard just like a large crash,” Andrew Sommer, a former tenant of The Davenport, told CNN affiliate KWQC. “Shortly after, we went outside and saw the whole section of the building gone.”
Emergency crews detected a large natural gas leak and water leaking from each floor of the building, officials said. The utilities have since been secured.
Seven people were rescued from the building, and more than a dozen others were escorted out, Carlsten said.
The area will remain closed as the search efforts and investigation continue.
