NPR News, Classical and Music of the Delta

New Orleans Mayor Expects Ruined Hotel Will Be Demolished

The cranes on the building pre-demolition.
New Orleans Fire Department

The mayor of New Orleans mayor says she expects a partially collapsed hotel in her city will ultimately be demolished.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a news conference Sunday that officials successfully detonated and toppled two dangerous cranes that had leaned for days over the ruins of the Hard Rock Hotel, which collapsed Oct. 12 while under construction.

She says the first mission now that the cranes have been toppled is to remove the last two bodies from the rubble. Three workers died in the partial hotel collapse but only one body was removed.

The mayor says a monitor had been placed near one of the bodies before the crane demolition so they would know where to locate it.

After the bodies are removed, Cantrell says, the building will ultimately be demolished. Says the mayor, "Let me be very clear. The expectation and the next mission after we remove our people from the site will be full demolition."

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email