KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A memorial has been dedicated in Kansas City to the 114 people killed 34 years ago in one of the nation’s worst structural disasters.
Two-hundred people from around the country turned out Thursday to view the 24-foot sculpture entitled “Sending Loves” The names of those killed in the 1981 skywalks collapse at Kansas City’s former Hyatt Regency Hotel are etched in the memorial.
The collapse occurred during a dance that drew about 1,500 people to the hotel. Shortly after 7 p.m., the fourth-floor skywalk gave way, falling on a second-floor skywalk. Then both dropped about 45 feet into the crowded lobby.
Besides the 114 people killed, more than 200 were injured. The memorial also honors the rescuers who rushed to the scene to cut people out of the twisted metal.