After the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Tanan apartment in Surfside, Florida, rescue work continued until Sunday. As of 12:00 noon on Sunday, US Eastern Time, the death toll has risen to 9 and more than 150 people are missing.
Rescuers searched for survivors among the huge rubble, and the Army Corps of Engineers has been asked to help.
On Sunday, local officials talked about rescue work.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said on ABC’s “This Week” program: “We have no other ideas. The only goal is to rescue their family from the rubble.”
The Mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, said at a press conference: “We are doing everything we can to identify other people who have recovered.”
The confirmed victims include a married couple: 83-year-old Antonio Lozano and 79-year-old Gladys Lozano. 54-year-old Stacie Fang and Manuel LaFont were also identified as victims.
Fang and Antonio Lozano were found on Thursday. LaFont and Gladys Lozano were discovered on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, Fang’s 15-year-old son was rescued alive. His rescue video has received widespread attention on social media.
When the building collapsed, LaFon’s wife and children were confirmed not to be in the building.
The families of the missing persons have been tested with DNA samples to help identify the remains as quickly as possible.
Erika Benitez, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Fire Department, said there are still people alive under the rubble and it is still possible to find survivors.
Burkert said that rescue work will continue in the next few days. “We will not stop…We will keep going until everyone is out,” he said.
#break in: The collapse of a building in South Florida has confirmed 9 deaths, digging ditches in the rubble https://t.co/G1arhZE0Ek pic.twitter.com/X7AmCUuoAu
— WFLA News (@WFLA) June 27, 2021
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said at a briefing with reporters outside City Hall: “We are drowning in resources. We have no resource problems, we have luck problems. We need better weather and fewer fires.”
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) June 27, 2021
Champlain Towers South is a waterfront apartment complex on the outskirts of Miami, built in 1981. The building collapsed at around 1:30 am local time on Thursday.
On Sunday, an engineering company issued an email for 2018, assessing that the building needs major repairs at an estimated cost of 9 million US dollars.
Nearly three years before the collapse of the Surfside waterfront building, an engineering company estimated that the Champlain Tannan Tower would require more than $9 million in overhaul. https://t.co/mrxfOSi8x6
— FOX6 News (@fox6now) June 27, 2021
