126 people still missing in Florida, building to be demolished

Steph Deschamps / July 3, 2021

Two more bodies were discovered in the rubble of the collapsed building in Florida, bringing the death toll to 22, with 126 people still missing, authorities announced Friday.

During today's search, we discovered the bodies of two additional people, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Friday at a news conference.

A few hours earlier, she had announced the discovery of two other bodies, including that of a seven-year-old girl, the child of a Miami firefighter.

Every night (since the collapse) has been immensely difficult for everyone but last night was special. It was really different and more difficult for our rescue workers, the mayor described the day after an emotional visit by President Joe Biden, who spent several hours with rescue workers and families.

The number of missing people has also risen to 126, announced Daniella Levine Cava, and 188 residents of the Surfside building in South Florida have now been found safe by investigators.

The search for survivors, increasingly desperate, had been interrupted for several hours Thursday, the authorities fearing that the still standing parts of the building would collapse in turn, before resuming late afternoon.

As a precautionary measure, the entire building will be demolished, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced Friday.

Most of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed on June 24 at about 1:20 a.m. (05:20 GMT) in a cloud of dust, one of the largest urban disasters in U.S. history.

Another residential complex, called Crestview Towers, in nearby North Miami Beach was evacuated Friday after an inspection highlighted safety issues in the building's structure, local media reported.

Hurricane Elsa, currently over the island of Barbados and possibly hindering the ongoing search in Surfside, is expected to approach Florida between Monday and Tuesday, said Robert Molleda of the U.S. Weather.