They found the remains of 18 other people in the rubble of the collapsed building in Miami and there are already 54 confirmed deaths

Rescuers found the remains of 18 other people in the ruins of the collapsed building in Surfside, Fla., Bringing the death toll to 54 on Wednesday. The search for victims has reached its fourteenth day, and just under 100 people are still missing, amid increasingly gloomy messages from the authorities.

Miami-Dade Deputy Fire Chief, Steep Jadallah, told families of the missing in a private meeting on Wednesday that the workers had removed ten other bodies and other human remains from the rubble, increasing the official number of deaths.

The rescuers “made a extensive removal of the rubble pile, He said. “They were able to go down to different areas to inspect,” he added.

The teams searched Tuesday in the sprayed concrete that was piled up where the south building of the Champlain towers once stood, filling buckets passed through a human chain before being emptied and put back on the front line.

On Tuesday, the press got a close look at some of the work in progress. The firefighters also released several videos and the discovery of eight new bodies, the highest figure in one day since the start of the operation, until today. Rain and wind from Tropical Storm Elsa made it difficult, although the eye of the storm is in northern Florida, relatively far from the location.

Teams are still looking for traces of survivors, and while authorities have said their mission is still to find people alive, are more and more pessimistic.

“At the moment, we are in search and rescue mode”said the director of the departmental police, Freddy ramirez, during a press conference on Tuesday evening. “Our main goal now is to bring a resolution to the families”he added.

No one was saved alive since the early hours of the building collapse on June 24, when many of its residents were asleep.

Rescuers continue to search for holes in the mountains of rubble where other survivors could be found, the county fire marshal said. Alan cominsky. “Unfortunately, we don’t see anything positive”, he clarified.

The Mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, said families of the missing are preparing for news of a “Tragic loss”, and revealed that the President of the United States, Joe biden, who visited the area last week, called on Tuesday to offer ongoing support.

“I think everyone will be ready when it is time to move on to the next phase,” said the mayor.

The bad weather that accompanies Storm Elsa is hampering search efforts. The lightning forced rescuers to suspend their work for two hours early Tuesday morning, Jadallah said. Authorities reported that 20 mph winds, with stronger gusts, hampered efforts to use cranes to remove the heaviest debris.

(With information from PA)

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