photo by Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY 2.0
After finally beginning the demolition of the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana in May of this year, the remains of 2 of the 3 workers killed in the incident are still trapped within the building. After working for several weeks to clear a safe path to retrieve the bodies, a lawyer from the development team of the project provided an update recently.
One of the men, Quinnyon Wimberly, is trapped on the 11th floor and the other, Jose Ponce Arreolo, is trapped on the 8th floor. The original plan was to have both of them removed by July, but that deadline was missed. Crews are working to recover Wimberly first.
The demolition contractor is deploying remote-controlled demolition robots to clear a safe path for retrieval, but the updates stated that the delays have been caused by WiFi connectivity issues with those robots, as well as rainy weather, according to WDSU6.
In addition, crews have encountered some areas where collapsed concrete sections are still partially in-tact and connected to rebar, which is causing some issues getting to Arreolo. The developer’s representative explained that additional robots are being brought in to speed up the process.
On the other side of the aisle, WDSU6 reports that the attorney hired by the city to handle the aftermath of the collapse is not in complete agreement regarding the reasoning for the delays. She claims that the some of the delay was caused by a project manager being absent for 2 days and staffing issues.
The developer plans to give the families of the victims a three-day notice when they believe crews can safely get into the building to recover their loved ones.
In April of this year, OSHA fined 11 companies involved in the project a total of $315,536 after a several month long investigation. The investigation found that design flaws contributed to the collapse, but also fined the general contractor and 9 subcontractors for various violations, including improper egress, failure to train employees, and failing to maintain structural stability, among others.
Full story: Hard Rock developer updates schedule to retrieve bodies from collapse | WDSU6
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