Rescue operations were launched in Davenport, in US state of Iowa, after part of a six-storey building collapsed on Sunday. Seven people are believed to be trapped under the rubble and an unknown number of others are injured, according to NBC News. The rescue operation continued through Sunday night, the outlet quoted city officials as saying at a press conference. There are also fears that the collapse of the building just before 5pm may have caused leakage of gas and water from the apartment, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said.
"A portion of the rear building had actually collapsed, separated from the building," he said.
More than a dozen people received help from first responders as they left the building, NBC News quoted Mr Carlsten as saying.
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Mayor Mike Matson did not rule out possible deaths in the incident. "There are people unaccounted for," Mr Matson said.
New York Post said that the back of the six-storey apartment complex collapsed and had separated from the building, which houses apartments on the upper floors and businesses on the ground level.
The police in Davenport advised locals to avoid the downtown area after the collapse.
A reunification area established at St. Anthony's Church on Main Street was being serviced by Red Cross personnel, the fire department said as per a New York Post report.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately known but civic authorities have launched an investigation.
Rich Oswald, City of Davenport director of development and neighborhood services, told New York Post that work was being done on the building's exterior at the time of the collapse.
