Death toll rises to 94 in Florida building collapse, work to identify victims becomes more difficult

The remains of four other people were recovered from the rubble of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., Which partially collapsed last month, bringing the confirmed death toll to 94 as officials said identification of the Victims became increasingly difficult as crews dig deeper into the debris.

Of the 94 confirmed deaths, 83 victims have been identified and 80 of those families notified, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Monday.

Police and the medical examiner are working “around the clock” to identify each victim, she said, but “at this point recovery is yielding human remains” as opposed to the bodies, which makes the process more difficult. .

The identification of the remains is “methodical, careful and it takes time,” said Levine Cava, adding that she recognizes that the waiting relatives were “in anguish”.

Angie Ambers, forensic DNA expert and associate director at the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Sciences in Connecticut, told NBC News shortly after the collapse that the use of the technology of the DNA would become even more crucial as the process of recovering victims dragged on.

Soft tissue, which allows visual identification and fingerprinting, can break down, especially when exposed to the high heat and humidity of South Florida.

“This is where DNA testing will become an invaluable tool in the investigation,” said Ambers, associate professor of forensics at New Haven University.

Detectives also continue to check an ever-changing list of missing people, now 22, Levine Cava said. Victims do not come off the missing persons list until they are identified, she said.

The number of people identified is 220.

“The search continues until all those trapped in the debris are removed,” said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett.

He said although crews sometimes had to take a break for the weather overnight on Sunday, they made significant progress, reaching the underground parking lot in parts of the pile.

The vehicles there are “terribly damaged, testifying to the violence of the collapse,” Burkett said.

The cause of the collapse in the middle of the night of June 24 is still unclear. Documents released after the collapse included a 2018 report that highlighted concerns from an engineer that the building had “major structural damage.” The engineer said his findings showed there were “extensive cracks” and crumbling in the parking lot.

Levine Cava said personal items recovered from the pile – such as identification documents, jewelry, safes, guns, religious items, cell phones, computers, photo albums and wallets – are kept and cataloged in the hope that they can be returned to their owners or their families.

The teams are so meticulous that they found bottles of wine intact as well as an artist’s business card and paintings that they were able to keep for the family.

Officials have stepped up security at the site, as discussions are ongoing on how to commemorate it after the debris that once made up 12 floors of the building have all been removed, ”said Burkett.

“Obviously it has become more than a collapsed construction site,” he said. “It is a holy place, for lack of a better word.”

Erik Ortiz contributed.