Rescue forces on Sunday night continue racing to reach four people trapped beneath a collapsed residential building in Haifa, hours after an Iranian missile struck the city. The four — an elderly couple, their 40-year-old son and their caregiver — have not made contact since the impact, and officials say there are serious fears for their lives.

The missile directly hit the lower level of a terraced residential structure, causing multiple floors above to collapse downward. Emergency teams say the unique structure of the building has made access to the trapped victims especially difficult, with large sections of debris blocking direct entry points.

Rescuers are using heavy engineering equipment to carve a “tunnel” through the rubble in an effort to reach the missing. At the same time, operations are being slowed by concerns that the missile’s warhead may still be intact. Police Commissioner Danny Levy said, “It is possible that the missile did not explode,” raising fears that hundreds of kilograms of explosives could remain buried at the scene.

Authorities evacuated nearby buildings as bomb disposal units examined the site alongside rescue crews. A senior MDA medic described arriving to “a multi-story building that had been hit” with “extensive destruction,” adding that teams were forced to move large concrete slabs by hand in the initial stages of the rescue.

Residents described a powerful blast that shook the area. “It was a huge explosion, a crazy blast. It was clear this was an impact,” said one witness. Another added, “We heard something flying, and very quickly there was a massive explosion.”