When searching for the wreckage of the collapsed apartment building in Surfside, Miami, search and rescue personnel said they heard voices in the rubble, and officials increased the number of missing to 159 and the confirmed death toll to four.
Key points:
- The local police are cooperating with the coroner’s office to determine the identities of the four victims
- Officials say 120 people were found during the search, but 159 people are still missing
- The rescue mission lasted overnight and is still in progress
The Mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniela Levin Kava, told reporters that three more bodies were pulled out of the wreckage at night local time.
Police Chief Freddy Ramirez said the authorities are working with the coroner’s office to determine the identity of the victim.
After the authorities set the number to 99 after the building collapsed, the mayor also increased the presumed missing number.
She said 120 people were counted.
Ray Gadallah, assistant fire chief in Miami Dade, said they heard noises in the rubble at night, but said the falling debris may have been or pecked people.
“We are listening to human noises and clicks,” he said, as rescuers used shovels and jackhammers to dig tunnels under the rubble to find places where there might be survivors.
On Thursday, the search team detected noise and other sounds, but no sound came from the debris pile.
Early that morning, most of the Champlain Towers South apartments in Surfside, a buffer island town across Miami’s Biscayne Bay, had collapsed. , The authorities said.
The footage taken by a nearby surveillance camera showed that at about 1:30 in the morning, the entire side of the building suddenly collapsed into two, one after the other, forming a dusty cloud.
Ms. Kaffa said the rescue team was “very motivated” to find people who survived the collapse.
US President Joe Biden approved the Florida state of emergency statement and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts.
AP: Lynn Sweet
)The reason for entering the 40-year-old tower is unclear, although local officials said that the 12-story tower is undergoing roof construction and other maintenance work.
Officials said that the complex, built in 1981, is undergoing restoration and needs repairs, and another building nearby is under construction.
The Champlain South Tower contains more than 130 units, of which about 80 have been occupied.
Surfside Commissioner Charles Kessel told Miami TV station WPLG Local 10 that it has been undergoing various inspections recently due to the recertification process and construction of adjacent buildings.
Reuters/Associated Press
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