Exploration continues with full force in the ruins of Surfside in Miami. 20 hours after the building collapse, almost a hundred people have not been accounted for.
Rescue crews are working around the clock, hoping to find more survivors after a 12-story building that housed many apartments collapsed Thursday night in the Surfside area of Miami. Photo: Lynne Sweet / AP / NTB
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102 people have been accounted for after the twelve-storey building collapsed at half past two local time on Thursday morning. At least eleven of these are injured. However, 99 are still unaccounted for, and at least one death has been recorded. Many anxiously await their loved ones again.
Teams of ten to twelve exploration workers engage in handling dogs and other equipment. They are looking until they can no longer bear it, before a new group takes over, Florida fire chief Jimmy Patronis explained on Thursday.
“They are not going to stop just because it gets dark,” he told the local TV station WPLG.
—-A couple anxiously awaits news about the family that have not been accounted for. Photo: Marta Lavandier / AP / NTB
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Extensive exploration work
Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Jason Richard tells CNN that while they are searching, they are working to determine where rescue crews can safely travel in the ruins.
Exploration work began at the top of the ruins, where people who were less trapped were rescued. Later, they continued the search in areas where noises could be heard, before the rescue crews continued in the parking garage of the building.
In addition to the dogs, listening instruments are used. Crews also sometimes stop to shout into the ruins, before listening to answers in the form of voices, banging or movement.
– So sometimes we stop completely, before everyone just becomes completely quiet and listens, Richard says.
—-People are lying on the floor hoping for good news in a family reunification center in Miami. Photo: Lynne Sweet / AP / NTB
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Get help on Friday
Patronis states that rescue crews from across the state are expected in Surfside on Friday, to relieve people who have worked constantly since night until Thursday local time.
– The biggest challenge is the speed these men and women must maintain. The biggest challenge is to stay focused, Patronis told CNN.
– They will not stop fighting until every life that can be saved has been saved, he added.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for crisis relief, and President Joe Biden says the federal government is ready to contribute.
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