After removing the debris, this is what the neighborhood where the Champlain Towers building was located in Miami looked like.

Desolation is the only thing left on Collins Avenue in Miami, after the complete removal of the debris that remained from the collapse of the Champlain towers at dawn on June 24.

On Wednesday, several South Florida media reported that the land where until recently there was a mountain of rubble and rescue teams working is now practically clean and clear. State Senator Jason Pizzo posted photos of the area on his Twitter account.

The crash site is now surrounded by traffic cones, while several workers with heavy machinery attempt to remove the bases of the columns that held the 12-story complex upright.

Even though the rubble has been picked up, local authorities are continuing to investigate the possible causes that generated the collapse of the structure. The remains of the building were transported by truck to a safe location away from the collapse site. They will be analyzed as part of the investigation.

A REMUNERATION

The victims and relatives of the 97 killed by the collapse of a residential building in Surfside, South Florida, will initially receive $ 150 million in compensationa Miami judge reported Wednesday.

Judge Michael Hanzman noted in a hearing that the amount will come from the insurance disbursement of Tours Champlain Sud and the foreseeable sale of the land where the 12-story condominium was erected, which collapsed at dawn on June 24 for causes that are still under federal investigation.

Hanzman, who stressed that the rights of victims will be protected, clarified that figure does not include results of multiple class actions filed after the event in which 97 people died, 95 of them identified by local authorities.

If the victims and their relatives so wish, all these complaints can be grouped into one request collective that covers all those concerned, said the judge.

Attorney Michael Goldberg, appointed by Hanzman to handle the finances of the condominium built in 1981, confirmed during Wednesday’s hearing that the area is free of debris, in a process overseen by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NITS), the agency leading the federal investigation into the collapse.

Added that the remains of the building were stored in a Miami warehouse which was considered key evidence for the NITS investigation, the final report of which can take years, as well as for legal proceedings.

According to the authorities, some 10,000 tons rubble from the collapsed building.

The South Champlain Towers were in the midst of a process of recertification -a study of structures and electricity required by law because it is a 40-year-old building- when it collapses in the middle of the night and when its occupants are sleeping.

Three years earlier, a report from an engineering company warned against serious structural problems in the building which deserved urgent attention.

THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH

The court hearing also served victims, relatives and owners of some of the over 130 apartments which housed the condominium expressed their views on what to do on the land valued at around $ 100 million.

While some want a new condominium to be built on the site that can be re-inhabited, others disagree and, on the contrary, they proposed that a memorial be built on the site.

Some have noted that the two options are compatible and that on the ground, by the sea, a new residential building which at the same time include a memorial in honor of the victims and those affected.

(With information from EFE)

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