Three bodies found in rubble

Three more bodies were pulled from the rubble at Whiting Field House this morning.

The bodies of Carl Robinson, James Smith, and Sarah Halings were found in the rubble this morning, none of them survived. Each body was found in the gymnasium area of the rubble and all were pronounced dead on the scene.

Robinson, a 58-year-old professor at Washburn, suffered brain damage from the rubble falling on him. His family has been notified. This is a great loss for Washburn University and the physical education department.

“We are stunned at the news of Carl’s death. We never thought that in all this we would lose someone in our department. He is a dear, dear friend and we are hurting right now,” said Roy Wohl, Ph.D. and chair of the Kinesiology department.

Smith is a student at Washburn and was waiting for Wohl’s Lifetime Wellness class to begin. He was a freshman and was undecided on his major. Washburn University expresses its condolences to the Smith family and is very saddened to hear news of Smith’s death. Smith’s family was notified and phone calls to the family were not returned for comment.

Halings, a senior mass media student, also died in the collapse. Authorities are still unsure about the cause of death and an autopsy report will be available as soon as Monday.

“I cannot believe this happened. This is a freak accident and Sarah was there. We are still in shock and she will be missed very much. It will hurt for a very long time because she had so much to look forward in her life,” said Vince Scott, a family friend.

The search and rescue effort continues in hopes of finding more people alive. There are still missing persons and it is very possible that those persons are still alive.

Keep checking back for further updates.