The painstaking search for survivors turned into a search for the dead at midnight on Wednesday, according to the news agency AP.
It happened after authorities said they had come to the painful conclusion that there was “no chance of life” in the ruins of Surfside in Miami.
On June 24, a residential building collapsed. Since then, rescue crews have been searching for lives.
So far, 54 deaths have been confirmed, and the death toll is rising almost every day.
– We have all prayed to God for a miracle. The decision to move from a rescue operation is extremely difficult, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference.
There are currently 86 people who have not been accounted for. They are still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed.
For two weeks, crews have been digging through large rock masses, hoping to find signs of life, Levine Cava said.
– They have used all possible strategies, and all possible technology to find people.
– They have used echo sounders, cameras, dogs and machines. The crews have searched for voids and they have searched for victims. They have run into a building they were told could collapse, defied fire, smoke, heavy rain and strong winds in the hope of finding people alive, the mayor said.
Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky said he expects the search for the dead will take several more weeks.
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