Rescuers have decided to end a search for survivors in the rubble of an apartment building that collapsed overnight on June 24 in Florida, said the mayor of Miami-Dade County, where the tragedy unfolded with at least 54 dead. but still a temporary report of the victims, as almost 90 people are still missing.
“I am deeply saddened to announce that in the afternoon we made the extremely difficult decision to move from the search and rescue phase to that of the corpse collection,” said Daniela Levine Kava, adding that 86 residents of the building remain missing.
The 24-hour search for the past two weeks on the rubble of this 12-storey apartment building in front of the sea in the community of Surfside has not led to the rescue of any survivors, except a teenager on the day of the disaster.
Members of rescue teams from Mexico and Israel with extensive experience in such operations participated in the search alongside their American colleagues in the wreckage. Most of the building, the so-called Champlain Towers South, collapsed in a way that has not yet been explained, although the building was damaged.
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What was left of the apartment building was demolished in a controlled manner on Sunday night, as its instability posed a danger to the lives of the members of the rescue crews. The teams then managed to continue the search to places they had not been able to reach until then.
Strong winds prevailed in the area and heavy rainfall occurred as Florida was hit by Tropical Storm Elsa.
Before announcing it to journalists, Mrs. Levine Cava, Ray Jandala, a senior Miami-Dade County fire officer, had personally informed family members of the missing that the search and rescue operation would be terminated, as the chances of finding other survivors were “non-existent.”
