It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse.Ĭrews at the site had been working on building a new 350-room Hard Rock Hotel, just steps away from the city’s historic French Quarter.ĬNN’s Rosa Flores contributed to this report. 8, 2020, nearly 10 months after the hotel partially collapsed while under. “Our biggest fear right now is the crane,” said McConnell. The body of Quinnyon Wimberly is lowered to the ground, recovered from the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans Saturday, Aug. Authorities evacuated several nearby buildings and suspended the area’s streetcar service. Several city blocks surrounding the area of Canal and Rampart streets have been closed because a crane attached to the building is unstable and could also collapse. McConnell said there is a “very strong possibility of further collapse” and compared the damage to that of an earthquake. Other parts of building could still collapseĪuthorities said the building remains unstable and fear another collapse will take place. “Our focus is on continuing to secure the site and…doing everything we can to support the families impacted as rescue efforts continue.”

“Today’s collapse was a tragedy, and our hearts break for the loss of life,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a Saturday statement. There are no reports of pedestrians or motorists on the street being injured, McConnell said earlier on Saturday.Ī third person that had been considered missing was found at a nearby hospital. The upper floors of the building collapsed on Saturday.