Miami landslide: death toll has risen to 36, authorities admit outlook bleak

Rescue teams in Miami found another body in the rubble of the collapsed building, bringing the death toll to 36., at a time when renewed research efforts are threatened by the arrival of Storm Elsa in Florida.

Officials investigating the site of an apartment building collapse in Florida were increasingly pessimistic on Tuesday about the possibility of locating survivors, noting that they did not detect any news. proof of life in the rubble.

With the sound of chainsaws and excavators in the background, Rescuers in yellow helmets searched the debris for the 13th day, in a task complicated by the rains and winds associated with Tropical Storm Elsa.

Workers were still looking for open spaces where people could be found, nearly two weeks after the Champlain South Towers collapsed in Surfside.

“We are looking as ardently as possibleMiami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said at a press conference. But he added that “unfortunately we don’t see anything positive. The key things – empty spaces, living spaces – we don’t see anything like it ”.

Although authorities continue to call the tasks a search and rescue operation, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has told families in the missing splint news of a “tragic loss.”.

“I think everyone is going to be prepared when it’s time to move on to the next phase,” said Levine Cava, noting that teams will use the same care when moving debris once the focus has shifted from the search for survivors to recover bodies.

“They really won’t see a difference,” the mayor said. “We will carefully search for bodies and personal effects, and catalog and respectfully treat any remains we find.”.

No one has been saved alive for the first few hours after the collapse, which occurred in the early morning hours of June 24, when many residents of the building slept.

More than 100 people are still missing, although only 70 of them were confirmed in the building when it collapsed, Levine Cava said.

Weather threatens to hamper rescue efforts. Crews can work in the rain, but thunderstorms sometimes forced them to suspend work and a parking lot in the middle of the debris was flooded.

Among the missing are dozens of Latin Americans from countries like Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay.

The causes of the collapse have not yet been determined, but several investigations are underway.

A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of “Major structural damage” to the complexFrom the concrete slab under the pool terrace to the columns and beams of the parking lot.

There are also several legal proceedings brought by people seeking redress for damage caused to the neighborhood community.

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