Photo: Michael Reave / Getty Images
For: EFE
Sunday, November 17
The death toll in the Miami-Dade collapse rises to 24 and there are 124 missing
MIAMI – Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed this Saturday that two other bodies have been extracted from the rubble of the partially collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, bringing the death toll to 24.
With the two bodies found today the number of missing remains in 128 and there is 188 people located alive.
“The number of confirmed victims now stands at 24. That’s 188 accounted for and 124 unaccounted for, “Major Daniella Levine Cava said of the latest # Surfside collapse numbers pic.twitter.com/u50 TbZmZKA
– Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) July 3, 2021
At a press conference it was also announced that the demolition of the of the building that is still standing will take place before the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa in Florida, scheduled for Monday.
Florida officials on Saturday abruptly moved up plans to demolish the remainin g part of a Miami area condo that collapsed June 24, as the threat of a secondary collapse of the damaged structure looms, potentially endangering rescue crews. pic.twitter.com/6u4a5946 Lk
– USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 3, 2021
According to Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, the demolition will take place “as soon as tomorrow.”
It is a “dramatic decision” that had to be made to prevent the storm from knocking over the remaining part of the Champlain Towers South building.
In this way, it is possible to “control” towards which place the remains of the building fall and avoid further damage, in addition to “protecting the evidence ”and allow search and control tasks to continue as much as weather conditions allow, said the mayor.
The mayor has hired specialists to perform the task and engineers will monitor the entire process, Levine Cava said.
Elsa, who is currently close to the Dominican Republic, can reach the Florida Keys, in the extreme south of the state, next Monday and According to the latest information from the National Hurricane Center, the current track indicates that it will be heading towards the west coast of the state instead of the east.
If these forecasts are maintained, there would be no direct impact from Elsa in the Miami area.