At least 11 people are dead and 151 others remain unaccounted for after a 12-story residential building partially collapsed in southern Florida’s Miami-Dade County last week, officials said.
A massive search and rescue operation entered its fifth day Monday, as crews continued to carefully comb through the pancaked pile of debris in hopes of finding survivors. The partial collapse occurred at around 1:15 a.m. local time last Thursday at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah.
The remaining structure that still stands was cleared by rescue crews last week and all resources have since shifted focus to the debris, according to Jadallah.
One body was uncovered in the wreckage on Monday morning and another in the afternoon, bringing the death toll to 11.
As of Monday afternoon, crews had still not physically reached the bottom of the pile but cameras placed inside showed voids and air pockets where people could be trapped, according to Jadallah, who said they are not yet ready to transition their efforts from rescue to recovery.
Meanwhile, 135 people who were living or staying in the condominium at the time of the disaster have been accounted for and are safe, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who noted that the numbers are “very fluid” and “will continue to change.”
Source-ABC
