Remains of collapsed building demolished in Florida – Noticias en la Mira con Lourdes Mendoza

Authorities feared the rest of the building would collapse, endangering rescuers. Those fears were compounded by the arrival of the Tropical Storm Elsa, forecast for Tuesday in Florida.

“The demolition itself is limited to the immediate area around the building“Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine had warned Sunday during a press conference.

“However, there is dust and other particles that are an unavoidable by-product of all types of demolitions and, as a precautionary measure, we urge the residents of the immediate vicinity to stay indoors.He added.

Expand your search

“Destroying this building, given that a storm is coming and we were going to have to do it anyway, is prudent,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Saturday.

Levine noted as “tearing down the building in a controlled manner” was “essential to expand” the search operation, since the teams had not been able to deepen it further due to the risk of landslides.

The presidente Joe Biden visited the scene on Thursday, met with relatives of the victims, who improvised a memorial on a metal mesh covered with photos of the dead and disappeared and decorated with flowers and candles.

Survivors reported being awakened around 1:30 AM (05:30 GMT) on the day of the collapse by what sounded like thunder shook their rooms.

Rescue teams who arrived moments after the building fell helped evacuate dozens of residents and pulled a teenager alive from the rubble.

No other survivors have been found, despite the deployment of sniffer dogs and cranes to lift debris.

Among the disappeared are dozens of Latin Americans from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Although the hypothesis of a failure in the maintenance of the building was raised, there is still no clear answer about the cause of the collapse.

READ MORE: Storm Elsa hits Cuba; they warn of heavy rains

“We have no solid evidence of what happened“Biden said Thursday, noting that there are” a number of questions. ”

Among them, he mentioned the maintenance and structure of the building, nearby construction sites and rising waters.

A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of “major structural damage” to the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to columns and beams in the parking lot.

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