With every day, every hour, the families of the residents of the Champlain South Tower in Florida lose hope a little more. The rescuers only find dead people in the rubble.
Miami – Almost two weeks after the partial collapse of a residential building in the US state of Florida, the emergency services discovered numerous other bodies in the rubble. The official number of deaths has now risen to 32, said Mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava.
Dozens of people are still missing. At the same time, the foothills of the tropical storm “Elsa” are hindering the rescue work. “Today we continue to expect occasional squalls and heavy rain showers,” said the district mayor. A hurricane warning was issued for parts of Florida.
The residential complex with around 130 units collapsed on June 24 for reasons that were still unclear. Since then, detection dogs, special cameras and heavy equipment have been used to search for victims practically around the clock. A part of the building that was still standing was deliberately blown up on Sunday evening because it was unstable. Since then, the rescuers have been able to search for victims in places that were previously inaccessible. Wind, thunderstorms and rain now make work on the site of the accident more difficult. Lightning temporarily interrupted the search.
“The wait is unbearable”
At the same time, hope is dwindling in Surfside that survivors will still be found in the rubble. “The wait is unbearable. And so it is unbearable to find out that a loved one has died, ”said Mayor Levine Cava.
“A family I met with had a daughter who recently graduated from law married in January,” said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett.
The cause of the accident was still unclear almost two weeks after the collapse. “The whole world wants to know what happened,” said District Mayor Levine-Cava. Appropriate investigations are ongoing, but it will take time. Investigators collected relevant evidence at the scene of the accident.
Authorities are also taking a closer look at the sister building of the collapsed Champlain South Tower – the Champlain North Tower. This was built by the same construction company at the same time – according to the same plans. The residents of this building had received the offer to move to other accommodations in the meantime.
Tropical storm “Elsa” is approaching
The Florida authorities also warned citizens of the state about tropical storm “Elsa”. They should be prepared to have to go without electricity for a few days and buy enough food. There are shelters in some districts. The weather worsened significantly on Tuesday morning – but the full force of the storm was only expected during the course of the day and the coming night. A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the state. dpa
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