Workers have recovered the remains of two construction workers whose bodies remained trapped in the rubble of the Hard Rock Hotel – nearly 10 months after the structure partially collapsed during construction.

The body of Jose Ponce Arreola, one of three men killed in the collapse, was removed from the site by an urban search and rescue team just before 4 p.m. Aug. 17, New Orleans city officials confirmed. On Aug. 8, the same search and rescue team recovered the body of the other victim, Quinnyon Wimberly.

The bodies of both men had been trapped in the rubble since Oct. 12, when the upper-floors of the 18-story building collapsed, killing three people.

The remains of Anthony Magrette, the third worker killed, was recovered two days after the collapse. Search and rescue teams were unable to reach the others until now because the structure’s instability made the effort too risky.

新奥尔良市长拉托亚·坎特雷尔（Latoya Cantrell）在书面声明中说：“开始结束这一过程是一种可怕的解脱。”

Representatives of project owner and developer 1031 Canal issued a statement saying no one was injured and no property sustained damage during the recovery operation, which has been under way for several weeks.

声明说：“ 1031运河对这两个好人的家庭和亲人表示最深切的同情，他们已经遭受了很长时间的等待康复。”

这两个机构的恢复和随后的拆除一直是一项复杂的任务，充满了风险和延误。拆除工作始于5月，目的是拆除这两个尸体并在7月之前拆除建筑物的上层。但是天气和设备问题进一步延迟了康复，使男子家人感到沮丧。

一月份，在风吹消散了一个掩盖了温伯利的腿的红色篷布后，停滞的恢复工作受到了抨击，该篷布从大街上可见。

For months leading up to the start of demolition, city officials and the developer were at odds over what would be the safest way to take down the partially collapsed structure. The developer pushed for a traditional, piece-by-piece demolition, while the city insisted that an implosion would be safer. At one point, city officials thought the building would have to be demolished with both bodies still inside.

Under a deadline set by a Civil District Court judge, the city and the developer reached an agreement on a piece-by-piece demolition, and the city issued a demolition permit in late April.

The demolition process began in May with crews tearing down three buildings that were in the Hard Rock’s footprint to put cranes in place. Next, they removed the remnants of the tower cranes that were brought down in a controlled demolition a few days after the collapse. In July, search and rescue workers began clearing debris so they could get to the two bodies.

不w that the bodies have been removed, workers can begin dismantling the rest of the structure – a process that could be complete sometime around the one-year anniversary of the Hard Rock collapse in October.

“At this point in the process, the contractor will shift to the demolition of the upper floors, which will be followed by demolition of the lower-level parking garage, and finally removal of all debris from the corner of Canal and Rampart (streets),” according to the statement from 1031 Canal.

Speaking on Aug. 18, Arturo Jauregui, the attorney representing the family of Jose Ponce Arreola, says the recovery will bring some closure for the family, but their ordeal is not over.

“我们感谢他的家人可以休息，” Jauregui说。Arreola将被火化，但Jauregui表示，这个家庭可能不得不再等两个月才能完成验尸官的报告和法医分析，然后才能收到骨灰。

Arreola开始前往新奥尔良帮助with the city’s reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina and had dedicated his life to construction for nearly 15 years, Jauregui says. At the time of the collapse, he was preparing to return home to Mexico to celebrate the life of his mother on the anniversary of her passing. “He was really excited that he’d be able to go back to Mexico and celebrate with his brothers and sisters,” Jauregui says. “Now they’ll get his remains in an urn.”