Authorities said on Friday that after 14 bodies were recovered from the rubble, the death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida has risen to 79.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava (Danielle Levine Cava) said: “This is a shocking and heartbreaking number that has a very, very deep impact on all of us.”
On June 24, a 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, a town in the northern part of Miami Beach, collapsed and dozens of residents slept in it.
Since the day of the collapse, no survivors have been found.
The mayor said that of the 79 victims, 53 have been confirmed and 61 are still missing.
The authorities announced on Wednesday that they had decided to transition from a search and rescue mission of potential survivors to an operation to find the remains.
The mayor of this 6,000-resident town, Charles Burkett, praised the “unbelievable” progress made by the search and rescue team, which has been working around the clock at the scene of the tragedy.
Burkert said the rubble of the building after the collapse was about four stories high, but it is now almost at ground level.
Alan Kominsky, chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Department, said that the victims were “all over the rubble.”
But he added that restoration efforts are mainly focused on areas where the stairwell may collapse because people may be trapped in the stairwell trying to escape.
On the 16th day after the tragedy, in a rare bright spot, the authorities were able to reunite Cat Binks with his family. This black cat miraculously survived the tumbling of the 9th floor unit and was found near the rubble.
“I am very happy that this little miracle can bring some light to the life of an injured family today,” Levin Kava said.
Multiple investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the collapse.
A report issued by city officials in 2018 showed that there were concerns about “significant structural damage” to the complex, from the concrete slabs under the pool deck to the columns and beams of the parking lot.
In a letter to residents in April, Jean Wodnicki, president of the Apartment Association, described the 40-year-old building “accelerated” damage since then and repairs will begin soon .
After the disaster, local authorities ordered a safety review of nearby buildings, including Champlain Tower North, the sister building of the collapsed apartment building.
