DAVENPORT, Iowa — An elite task force with dogs trained to smell death is combing through a partially collapsed building in eastern Iowa as three people remain missing.
Iowa Task Force 1, a Cedar Rapids-based urban search and rescue team trained and equipped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arrived in the city of Davenport on Thursday, four days after a section of a six-story residential building collapsed. The team brought"live and cadaver canines," or dogs trained to pick up the scent of humans both alive and dead, according to a press release from the city government.
It's become a race against time to find and rescue any survivors since part of The Davenport collapsed for unknown reasons on Sunday afternoon. The building, located in the heart of downtown Davenport, houses commercial space at the street level and residential units in the floors above. More than a dozen people evacuated at the time of the collapse, while eight others and several pets were rescued in the 24 hours that followed.
On Tuesday, the city's demolition plans were put on hold as officials announced that five residents were still unaccounted for, including two -- 42-year-old Branden Colvin and 51-year-old Ryan Hitchcock -- who may be inside. Crews rescued several more animals from inside the structure that afternoon but no human activity was detected, according to officials.
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