Landmark Hotel Comes Crashing Down

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) - A seven-story hotel in downtown Owensboro came crashing down Sunday in front of hundreds of people who gathered for the massive implosion.

An official with Advanced Explosives Demolition tells the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer that the implosion of the Executive Inn Rivermont was a success.

A series of explosions blew out debris on the first-floor level, then the top of the building began to crumble. Then the massive structure plunged to earth, engulfed in a thick cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, all that was left was a flattened pile of rubble except for an elevator tower that didn't come all the way down. Denney Excavating official Brett Rape says when the debris is cleared out, the elevator shaft will fall.

The future of the nearly 20-acre, city-owned Executive Inn site hasn't been determined.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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