Three days after the collapse of a high-rise building in Florida, 159 people are still missing. The rescue work continued, however, the authorities said.
–
Three days after the partial collapse of a high-rise apartment building in Florida, the search for missing persons continued on Saturday night. During the rescue work, four bodies were recovered by Friday, the whereabouts of 159 people were still unclear, as the authorities announced. The rescue teams continued to feverishly search for possible survivors in the rubble, although the chances were getting smaller.
–
Two years after the collapse
Inauguration of the new bridge in Genoa: “It should stand for 1000 years,” says Renzo Piano
–
–
120 victims have already been identified
“We’ll continue through the night, and God willing, there will be good news in the morning,” said Miami Dade County administrative chief Daniella Levine Cava on Friday evening. 120 people have now been identified, but the whereabouts of 159 other people are still unclear. “We will continue the search and rescue operation because we still have hope of finding the living,” said Levine Cava.
The twelve-story residential building Champlain Tower in the city of Surfside north of Miami Beach collapsed on Thursday night for a previously unknown cause. Some residents were able to take the stairs to safety or were rescued from balconies. It is feared that many were surprised by the collapse in their sleep.
Frustration among loved ones
Head of administration Levine Cava praised the tireless efforts of the rescue workers, who looked for victims with the help of sniffer dogs. Sometimes they have to be forced to quit after the end of their shift, she reported.
On the other hand, there was frustration among the relatives of the missing: “Not enough is being done,” said Mike Salberg, who flew to Miami from New York after the accident. Five family members, including his parents, are still missing, he told the AFP news agency. “I want answers,” he added. “We are told they have the best teams” but he doesn’t believe it: “40 hours later, four dead”.
Joe Biden expresses his sympathy
US President Joe Biden expressed his condolences in a message to the worried families. You were going through a “hard time”. He had previously ordered federal aid to support the rescue efforts.
A total of 55 apartments were affected by the collapse. Until Friday evening it was still unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the accident, which also housed many holiday apartments. According to Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, many of the missing are from abroad, including Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Canada said at least four of its citizens may also be “affected”.
video article__video-brightcove video-brightcove--context-article">
<video-js class="js-brightcove vjs-fluid u-typo" controls="" playsinline="true" lang="de" data-embed="default" x-data-video-id="ref:4d6a8972-8d13-40ee-95ba-4b50320dba63" data-config="{"tracking":{"staticTitle":"30588524:Video-Fast 100 Menschen nach Hochhauseinsturz an Küste von Miami vermisst ","hiddenSources":[["FEEDAGENTUREN","Reuters"],["STERN","stern-online"]],"technicalTags":["news"]},"timeoutMillis":8000,"redirectCount":10,"posterImage":"https://image.stern.de/30588514/t/9A/v2/w960/r1.7778/-/miami-hauseinsturz.jpg","length":"PT1M15S","disableAutoplay":false,"adZone":"panorama"}">
video-js>
–
Signs of subsidence
According to local media, the building was built near Surfside Beach in 1981. Roof work was carried out before the accident, but officials do not believe that this could be responsible for the collapse.
According to a study by environmental scientist Shimon Wdowinski of Florida International University, signs of subsidence were found at the site in the mid-1990s. “I don’t know if the collapse was foreseeable. But we found that the building was moving at the time,” Wdowinski told CNN.
