They are going to demolish this Sunday evening the Miami building which did not collapse: they fear that the storm Elsa will produce a dangerous spontaneous collapse

Demolition crews prepared to demolish the rest of the partially collapsed building in South Florida on Sunday ahead of a storm that raised fears the structure could collapse dangerously. Authorities suspended search and rescue operations on Saturday for crews to begin the precarious task of drilling explosives holes in the concrete of the remaining standing structure of the Champlain Towers South building.

The operation carries risks, but authorities have said it is inevitable. Tropical Storm Elsa looms over the Caribbean and is expected to hit Florida on Tuesday morning. The confirmed death toll is 24, but the fate of 121 people is still unknown.

The Miami-Dade Police Department added Graciela Cattarossi, 48, and Gonzalo Torre, 81, to the list of confirmed deaths on Saturday night.

Miami-Dade Deputy Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told the families of the victims that it was necessary to put an end to the search operation because of the security measures, because the work could cause the collapse of the structure. If that happens, he said, “it will just collapse without warning.”

In a video transmission of Jadallah’s statements to the families of the missing, a woman was heard saying it was “devastating” that the search was suspended. The woman asked if rescuers could at least bypass the perimeter of the site so as not to “stop the operation for so many painful hours.”

With Tropical Storm Elsa threatening the Caribbean and predicting it will hit the state in the next few days, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said the Surfside building is “unstable” and “structurally weak,” so demolition is the thing. to be more careful.

“If the building is demolished, it will protect our search and rescue teams because we don’t know when it will collapse,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Saturday morning.

Fears of a spontaneous collapse in advance had made it difficult to search in areas near this section. and the movements detected Thursday morning forced the search to be suspended for 15 hours.

Jadallah explained that the remains of the demolished building will be removed immediately so that rescuers have access for the first time to the parking area, which is one of the research centers. This could provide a clearer view of any gaps in the rubble where there might be survivors.

There has been no rescue of people alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse.

An audit conducted after the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside determined that the 156 Crestview Towers homes in North Miami Beach, about five miles (eight kilometers) away, had been declared unsafe in terms of structure and installation. electric. reported in a press release. On Friday afternoon, authorities cordoned off the area and went door to door warning residents that they must abandon the structure erected 49 years ago.

It is the first building evacuated since South Florida and statewide city officials began examining other older skyscrapers after the Surfside incident, to ensure that Major structural problems are not ignored.

With information from the PA

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