Miami collapse: there are already ten confirmed deaths | There are 151 missing persons

The number deaths due to the collapse of the Champlain Towers residential building in the town of Surfside, Florida, has grown to ten after the discovery of another body. This was reported on Monday by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Meanwhile, the search continues for 151 missing persons, including nine Argentines.

“This morning, we recovered another body which brings the count to 10”said the mayor, who confirmed the “number of missing 151”, among which 29 Latin Americans: nine from Argentina, six from Colombia, six from Paraguay, four from Venezuela, three from Uruguay and one from Chile.

According to relatives of the victims, the research officers among the iron and concrete rubble, which kicked off this Thursday with more than 300 Miami County firefighters and firefighters, supported by reinforcements from across Florida, they move too slowly.

“It seems slow, but we are moving as fast as possible”, said Maggie Castro, a member of the Miami-Dade Fire Department’s No.1 Search and Rescue Unit, which is made up of specialists who participated in the rescue work after the 2010 Haiti earthquake in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the attack on Oklahoma in 1995 and the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001.

According to Castro, it is “a difficult operation” which is interrupted by regular lightning storms and a fire that took a long time to be brought under control. “We have to search a huge pile of debris in a methodical and strategic manner,” said the rescuer, who has worked for the Miami Fire Department for 17 years. “There are areas with possible air pockets where there may be survivors. If we aggressively rush through the rubble, we destroy these spaces“he added.

For his part, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said on Monday that there was a “probable cause” to believe that there could be a problem in the collapsed twin building, which has already been voluntarily evacuated. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, for its acronym in English) have visited the region to investigate possible causes for the collapse of the building.

The operators

While shortly after the tragic collapse, a teenager was taken alive from the ruins, there are still human remains that could not be identified. Because “people were probably in bed when the collapse happened”said rescuer Maggie Castro, there is little chance of finding more than one at a time.

On Friday, operations continued with heavy machinery, two cranes, an excavator and technological equipment, including underground sonar systems capable of detecting casualties. When a concrete slab is lifted, “rescuers work by hand, picking up debris with buckets,” said Castro.

Between 50 and 60 rescuers and canine units they work permanently on site, supported by image and sound technology to locate airspaces.

According to Castro, during rescue efforts you hear “falling debris, twisted metal, but we didn’t hear human noise.” “It’s difficult, exhausting and emotionally heavy when you work for hours without finding anyone,” he admitted.

“It’s a frantic search to continue to see this hope, this miracle, to see who we can get out of this building alive,” said Andy Álvarez, Miami-Dade fire chief, who regretted the conditions being ” bad “. for rescuers due to heat, humidity and rain.

“Now that we have these huge cranes, we’re doing some big lifts (debris). It will help us laminated this building almost like an onion, so we could go inside and find those voids that we know could possibly be there and save these people“, he underlined.