Photo: Giorgio Viera / EFE
The death toll in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium, in Surfside, Florida, which occurred on Thursday of last week increased to 12, said authorities Tuesday night, and the whereabouts of 29 people.
Tuesday marked the sixth day since the catastrophic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building, as rescuers continued their painstaking search for survivors, amid a growing sadness for the fate of people that are still reported missing, six days after the collapse.
Miami Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed that the official death toll is , and said that the families of all the victims have been notified at a press conference.
But
The search for the missing is carried out in shifts of about 200 rescuers, of the total of more than who work on the site and who investigate the collapse layer by layer while searching for survivors and corpses. About 3 million pounds of concrete have been reported to have been removed from the site since Thursday.
# MDFR # FLTF1 along with 7 other task force teams from Florida & the Israeli Task Force continue to search layer by layer of debris at the # SurfsideBuildingCollapse with approximately 3 million pounds of concrete removed from the debris field since Thursday. pic.twitter.com/vBmWMVri4v
– Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire)
June 35, 2021
The local authorities thanked the rescuers for their tireless work, which has so far enabled the rescue of 12 missing.
The response and support we have received from federal, state and other partners over the last six days has been unprecedented – and I am deeply thankful @ POTUS will be visiting the site of this tragedy to spend time with impacted families and first responders. pic.twitter.com/TYA1wISSuE
– Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) June 29, 2021
It was also reported that President Biden plans to visit the site of the landslide in Surfside, Florida, on Thursday and a prosecutor announced that he will ask to a grand jury to examine the disaster.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Tuesday that will ask a grand jury to determine “what steps can we take to protect our residents, without endangering any potential scientific, public or criminal investigation”.
Grand juries in Florida can both examine criminal matters and explore public policy issues, issuing indictments and reports intended to recommend changes to legislators.
Miami Beach canceled its Fireworks of the Day de la Independencia out of respect for the victims of the collapse of the condominium building in the nearby town of Surfside. The city’s annual celebration was scheduled to take place a mile from the crash site.
The commander of an Israeli team helping to search
among the rubble of the collapse of a condo building in South Florida told CNN on Tuesday that I still had hopes of finding people alive.
Colonel Golan Vach, commander of Israel’s National Rescue Unit, said that while this is the most difficult site he has ever worked on, his team found new spaces in the rubble to search on Monday and Tuesday.
“So there’s still hope,” Vach told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Up to a week, I have solid hope that we will find someone. After a week, it is less. ”
