NEW ORLEANS, La. — City officials are working toward finally recovering the remains of two New Orleans construction workers who died when an 18-story Hard Rock Hotel construction site collapsed last October.
The bodies of Quinnyon Wimberly and Jose Arreola have been trapped in the rubble for nearly 10 months. In the Oct. 12. collapse on the edge of the French Quarter, 18 people were injured and three died. The body of the third worker, Anthony Magrette, was recovered within days.
NOLA fire superintendent: Site dangers the cause of delay in retrieval
New Orleans Fire Superintendent Tim McConnell attributed the delay in recovering Wimberly and Arreola to the precariousness of the still-standing structure and the amount of debris trapping the two men inside.
"This is a dangerous and unstable building," McConnell said, "Recovery is very, very challenging because of the amount of debris the victims are under. (This is) very frustrating for rescuers who do this for a living and you can only imagine what the families are going through."
On Monday, crane operators began using a wrecking ball to knock some of the walls from the frame of the building to help access the victims.
Wimberly's remains are trapped under a cascade of concrete on the 11th floor of the structure. McConnell said they hope to reach him by the end of the week and Arreola by July 29. The rescue team will put the remains in containers, which will be taken to the coroner's office for identification before being given to the families, he said.
McConnell said the city has remained in communication with the families. He said he and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell have spoken to the families every week and that he has spoken to Wimberly's family every day since recovery operations began last week.
"It’s hard to lose someone and particularly hard to wait 10 months before you can get that final closure," McConnell said.
Residents frustrated by lack of effort to retrieve victims
The inability to recover the bodies of the two construction workers has been a source of frustration for New Orleans residents who believe the building and the bodies should have been removed months ago.
In January, the legs of one of the workers were seen hanging from the collapsed structure after a tarp blew away. Images of the deceased worker, who local media identified as Wimberly, began circulating on social media and led to protests outside city hall.
Investigation finds city workers falsified inspection reports
In addition, an investigation of New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits found that city employees had falsified inspection reports, approving construction without visiting the site as required. One of the missed inspections occurred 11 days prior to the collapse.
In April, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration report accused Heaslip Engineering, the Hard Rock Hotel's lead engineer, of "serious" and "willful" violations. OSHA found that "floor beams on the 16th floor were under-designed in load capacity" and "structural steel connections were inadequately destined, reviewed or approved." OSHA's report did not say if these lapses caused the collapse of the under construction building.
More: Contractor claims video shows structural flaws prior to Hard Rock Hotel collapse
More: At collapsed New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel, OSHA cites 'willful' and 'serious' safety violations
Demolition discussions also drew concerns. For months, the project's owner, a company named 1031 Canal LLC, and the city bickered publicly over how the building should be demolished: either by an imposition or a slowly piece by piece. Multiple deadlines came and went. In April, the city government approved a piece by piece demolition plan, which began with two removal of damaged cranes that had been partially imploded in October.
The collapsed pile of concrete once planned to be the newest economic driver in the French Quarter continues to impact day-to-day life. Canal Street remains blockaded, forcing traffic to find alternative routes to one of the city's tourism hubs. The site can be seen from the interstate for those driving into the city.
News tips? Story ideas? Questions? Call reporter Todd Price at 504-421-1542 or email him at taprice@gannett.com. Sign up for The American South newsletter.
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