An intense search operation with trained dogs and sonar looking for any signs of life continued into Friday morning after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers condo complex just north of Miami Beach.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava of Miami-Dade County said three bodies had been pulled from the rubble overnight, bringing the known death toll to four. She said 159 people were unaccounted for, a number which had risen from 99 on Thursday.
“I want to be clear about the numbers, they’re very fluid,” she said at a Friday morning news conference.
In an earlier interview on Good Morning America, Levine Cava said the rising death toll was “devastating news for families waiting for any hope of survival and of course we are going to continue to search”.
Teams of firefighters plus an urban search-and-rescue squad were rotating work at the site, said Ray Jadallah, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue assistant chief.
“This process is slow and methodical,” Chief Jadallah said.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida said on Thursday that search-and-rescue teams had “made contact” with some people in the wreckage of the 12-storey, 136-unit residential complex.
Emergency workers heard “sounds and bangs” late on Thursday afternoon, Chief Jadallah said — but no voices.
The stunning collapse of the residential building at 8777 Collins Avenue left few answers and considerable questions about how a 40-year-old condo could have suddenly crumbled as its residents rested in their beds.
The building was home to a mix of retirees and well-off professionals with young families. Fifty-five units were affected by the collapse, Levine Cava said.
The wrecked interiors of what were once people’s homes gaped open toward the ocean: Broken air-conditioning units. An empty bunk bed. Linens waving in the wind.
President Biden on Friday approved an emergency declaration, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist.
“I say to the people of Florida: Whatever help you want, the federal government can provide,” he said.
New York Times News Service
