The recovery efforts at the South Florida condo building that collapsed last month might be coming to an end soon.

Miami-Dade police identified six more victims of the Surfside condo collapse Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified as the recovery enters a final stretch.

County officials have been able to account for at least 240 people connected to the building, with just a few people still classified as missing, or "potentially unaccounted for." 
 
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A county statement late Thursday said the task of identifying victims had become increasingly difficult, relying heavily on the medical examiner's office and expert technical and scientific work.

It added more than 26 million pounds (11.8 million kilograms) of debris and concrete have been removed as recovery work continues to progress.

A cause has not yet been pinpointed for the collapse, although there were several previous warnings of major structural damage at the 40-year-old building. 
 
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A judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property on Wednesday, with proceeds intended to benefit victims of the deadly disaster.

At a hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman ordered that the process begin to sell the site of Champlain Towers South, which could fetch US$100 million to US$110 million, according to court records.

The judge also approved returning US$2.4 million in deposits that some Champlain condo owners had already made toward an assessment to pay for US$15 million in planned major repairs.

The Surfside collapse has raised alarm and focused scrutiny on other older apartment buildings, including two high-rises in Miami-Dade County that have been evacuated over structural concerns.

On Thursday, a three-story apartment building in northwestern Miami-Dade was evacuated following a partial roof collapse, officials said.

No injuries were immediately reported. Miami-Dade firefighters responded and were checking the roof and clearing the building.

Helicopter footage from WSVN showed that a long section of roof overhang had fallen off one side of the complex to the ground below. The roof didn't appear to have collapsed into any units.

Fire rescue spokesperson Erika Benitez confirmed that the damage was limited to the building's exterior.

The recovery efforts at the South Florida condo building that collapsed last month might be coming to an end soon. Miami-Dade police identified six more victims of the Surfside condo collapse Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified as the recovery enters a final stretch.

The recovery efforts at the South Florida condo building that collapsed last month might be coming to an end soon. Miami-Dade police identified six more victims of the Surfside condo collapse Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified as the recovery enters a final stretch. County officials have been able to account for at least 240 people connected to the building, with just a few people still classified as missing, or "potentially unaccounted for." Also read | Florida building collapse finds its first survivor, a cat A county statement late Thursday said the task of identifying victims had become increasingly difficult, relying heavily on the medical examiner's office and expert technical and scientific work. It added more than 26 million pounds (11.8 million kilograms) of debris and concrete have been removed as recovery work continues to progress. A cause has not yet been pinpointed for the collapse, although there were several previous warnings of major structural damage at the 40-year-old building. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm A judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property on Wednesday, with proceeds intended to benefit victims of the deadly disaster. At a hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman ordered that the process begin to sell the site of Champlain Towers South, which could fetch US$100 million to US$110 million, according to court records. The judge also approved returning US$2.4 million in deposits that some Champlain condo owners had already made toward an assessment to pay for US$15 million in planned major repairs. The Surfside collapse has raised alarm and focused scrutiny on other older apartment buildings, including two high-rises in Miami-Dade County that have been evacuated over structural concerns. On Thursday, a three-story apartment building in northwestern Miami-Dade was evacuated following a partial roof collapse, officials said. No injuries were immediately reported. Miami-Dade firefighters responded and were checking the roof and clearing the building. Helicopter footage from WSVN showed that a long section of roof overhang had fallen off one side of the complex to the ground below. The roof didn't appear to have collapsed into any units. Fire rescue spokesperson Erika Benitez confirmed that the damage was limited to the building's exterior.

Recovery effort at Florida condo collapse could end soon, death toll at 97

Almost a month after the collapse of a building in Florida, the death toll is still increasing as the search and rescue teams are searching for victims.

The death toll has now increased to 94, after nearly three weeks of the disaster. However, the search and rescue operation is seemingly becoming more difficult now.

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"There may be people who are deceased who remain on the unaccounted list until a positive ID has been made," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "However, the process of making identifications has become more difficult as time goes on, and the recovery at this point is yielding human remains."

She has urged people to keep patience and has also expressed condolences and sympathies for the family members of the missing people. "The process is very methodical and careful, and it does take time," she said.

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Some scientists have also offered their services to match the DNA from recovered human remains to those of the family members of the missing victims. "It's obvious that this has become much more than a collapsed building site. It is a holy site," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said.

Meanwhile, authorities are now investigating several other buildings in the area for any possible structural damage. An investigation has also been launched to find out the reason behind this deadly building collapse.

Almost a month after the collapse of a building in Florida, the death toll is still increasing as the search and rescue teams are searching for victims. The death toll has now increased to 94, after nearly three weeks of the disaster.

Almost a month after the collapse of a building in Florida, the death toll is still increasing as the search and rescue teams are searching for victims. The death toll has now increased to 94, after nearly three weeks of the disaster. However, the search and rescue operation is seemingly becoming more difficult now. Also read | Florida building collapse finds its first survivor, a cat "There may be people who are deceased who remain on the unaccounted list until a positive ID has been made," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "However, the process of making identifications has become more difficult as time goes on, and the recovery at this point is yielding human remains." She has urged people to keep patience and has also expressed condolences and sympathies for the family members of the missing people. "The process is very methodical and careful, and it does take time," she said. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm Some scientists have also offered their services to match the DNA from recovered human remains to those of the family members of the missing victims. "It's obvious that this has become much more than a collapsed building site. It is a holy site," Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. Meanwhile, authorities are now investigating several other buildings in the area for any possible structural damage. An investigation has also been launched to find out the reason behind this deadly building collapse.

'Methodical and careful': Death toll of Florida building collapse reaches 94

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;has reached 86, authorities said Saturday, after workers sifting through the debris pile recovered seven more bodies.

"It is a staggering and heartbreaking number that affects all of us very, very deeply," said Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County.

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She told reporters that 62 of the corpses so far recovered have been identified as part of what Levine Cava called "the largest ever non-hurricane emergency response effort in&nbsp;Florida's history."&nbsp;

A total of 43 people remain listed as missing.&nbsp;

After clinging to hope for two weeks after the June 24 collapse, the authorities on Wednesday finally ended the rescue part of their work to focus on the search for remains.

Teams working around the clock did announce one tiny miracle: they found a cat wandering nearby that had belonged to a family living on the tower's ninth floor.&nbsp;

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The short-haired black cat, named Binx, was turned over to relatives of the family.

The 12-story Champlain Towers South partially collapsed without warning in the early hours of June 24.

Investigators are continuing to study possible reasons for the disaster, but an earlier engineering report had flagged significant structural problems.

With a still-standing portion of the building posing danger to search teams, the authorities on Sunday brought it down in a controlled implosion.

Since then, bodies have been recovered at a faster pace.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/florida-condo-collapse-israelis-fight-despair-while-aiding-survivors-395978/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"We're definitely at ground level and a few feet below, so we're continuing our efforts," said Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky. &nbsp;

He said there was no definite timeline for completing the job, but "we're definitely making progress."

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida has reached 86, authorities said Saturday, after workers sifting through the debris pile recovered seven more bodies.

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida has reached 86, authorities said Saturday, after workers sifting through the debris pile recovered seven more bodies. "It is a staggering and heartbreaking number that affects all of us very, very deeply," said Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County. Also read | Florida building collapse: Bodies of Paraguayan first lady’s kin found in the rubble She told reporters that 62 of the corpses so far recovered have been identified as part of what Levine Cava called "the largest ever non-hurricane emergency response effort in Florida's history." A total of 43 people remain listed as missing. After clinging to hope for two weeks after the June 24 collapse, the authorities on Wednesday finally ended the rescue part of their work to focus on the search for remains. Teams working around the clock did announce one tiny miracle: they found a cat wandering nearby that had belonged to a family living on the tower's ninth floor. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume The short-haired black cat, named Binx, was turned over to relatives of the family. The 12-story Champlain Towers South partially collapsed without warning in the early hours of June 24. Investigators are continuing to study possible reasons for the disaster, but an earlier engineering report had flagged significant structural problems. With a still-standing portion of the building posing danger to search teams, the authorities on Sunday brought it down in a controlled implosion. Since then, bodies have been recovered at a faster pace. "We're definitely at ground level and a few feet below, so we're continuing our efforts," said Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky. He said there was no definite timeline for completing the job, but "we're definitely making progress."

Florida condo tower death toll now at 86

The body of the Paraguayan president's sister-in-law and two of her family members were retrieved from the ruins of the Florida condo that fell.

According to the Paraguayan television channel Telefuturo, the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, and their youngest son have been located, but two more children are still missing.

Sophia López Moreira is the sister of Silvana López Moreira, the first lady of the Republic of Paraguay.

“I am very sorry to have to give this type of information,” National Chancellor Euclides Acevedo said, according to a rough translation. 
 
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The information came from the Paraguayan consulate and those close to the family, the report stated.

The wreckage of the Champlain Tower South in Surfside, a 12-story structure that partially fell on June 24, is still being cleaned up.

On Thursday evening, the official death toll had risen to 64, with 76 people still missing.

(With inputs from agencies)

The body of the Paraguayan president's sister-in-law and two of her family members were retrieved from the ruins of the Florida condo that fell. According to the Paraguayan television channel Telefuturo, the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, and their youngest son have been located, but two more children are still missing.

The body of the Paraguayan president's sister-in-law and two of her family members were retrieved from the ruins of the Florida condo that fell. According to the Paraguayan television channel Telefuturo, the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill, and their youngest son have been located, but two more children are still missing. Sophia López Moreira is the sister of Silvana López Moreira, the first lady of the Republic of Paraguay. “I am very sorry to have to give this type of information,” National Chancellor Euclides Acevedo said, according to a rough translation. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume The information came from the Paraguayan consulate and those close to the family, the report stated. The wreckage of the Champlain Tower South in Surfside, a 12-story structure that partially fell on June 24, is still being cleaned up. On Thursday evening, the official death toll had risen to 64, with 76 people still missing. (With inputs from agencies)

Florida building collapse: Bodies of Paraguayan first lady’s kin found in the rubble

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida outside Miami has risen to 46 after 10 more bodies were extracted from the rubble, as the number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 94, officials said Wednesday.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said emergency personnel had been able to reach new areas in the pile of debris as a result of the demolition of Champlain Towers South in a controlled explosion over the weekend.

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She told reporters that those efforts had brought "the total confirmed deaths to 46. Thirty-two of these victims have been identified and next of kin notifications have been made."

"At this time, 200 people are now accounted for and 94 people are still unaccounted for," Levine Cava said.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/florida-building-collapse-159-victims-still-missing-under-debris-394052/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The building in Surfside collapsed in the early hours of June 24, nearly two weeks ago. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the collapse.

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Levine Cava said rescuers were lucky as the weather had cleared, with Tropical Storm&nbsp;Elsa&nbsp;making landfall on the Sunshine State's west coast.

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida outside Miami has risen to 46 after 10 more bodies were extracted from the rubble, as the number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 94, officials said Wednesday.

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in Florida outside Miami has risen to 46 after 10 more bodies were extracted from the rubble, as the number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 94, officials said Wednesday. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said emergency personnel had been able to reach new areas in the pile of debris as a result of the demolition of Champlain Towers South in a controlled explosion over the weekend. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume She told reporters that those efforts had brought "the total confirmed deaths to 46. Thirty-two of these victims have been identified and next of kin notifications have been made." "At this time, 200 people are now accounted for and 94 people are still unaccounted for," Levine Cava said. The building in Surfside collapsed in the early hours of June 24, nearly two weeks ago. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the collapse. Also read | Tropical Storm Elsa strengthens to hurricane as it closes in on Florida Levine Cava said rescuers were lucky as the weather had cleared, with Tropical Storm Elsa making landfall on the Sunshine State's west coast.

Florida building collapse toll rises to 46

The death toll from the collapse of an oceanfront condominium complex in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 28, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.&nbsp;

"Another victim has been retrieved from the wreckage of the fallen Champlain Towers South building, raising the death toll to 28," CNN said, quoting Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.&nbsp; 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/lax-enforcement-let-south-florida-towers-skirt-inspections-for-years-395861">Also read | Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years</a>

According to Cava, this indicates 117 people are still missing. Three more victims were found earlier in the wreckage of the collapsed Champlain Towers South building.

The other victims were discovered after search activities resumed around midnight Sunday night following the demolition of what remained left of the building.&nbsp;

The structure was demolished around 10:30 pm Sunday (local time) using a method Levine Cava called "energetic felling," describing it as a process that "uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place," CNN reported. 
 
Rescuers have removed more than 4 million pounds of concrete in the search for survivors of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida. 
 
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A large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed last week, prompting a massive search-and-rescue response as many people were reported missing.

The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. However, new information about the structural integrity revealed in a 2018 engineering assessment is becoming available.

Experts who have analysed the available data on the collapse suggest the investigation into the reason should concentrate on potential weaknesses around the building's base.&nbsp;

However, lightning and tropical weather conditions forced the search-and-rescue team to pause efforts once again.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The death toll from the collapse of an oceanfront condominium complex in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 28, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

The death toll from the collapse of an oceanfront condominium complex in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 28, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. "Another victim has been retrieved from the wreckage of the fallen Champlain Towers South building, raising the death toll to 28," CNN said, quoting Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Also read | Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years According to Cava, this indicates 117 people are still missing. Three more victims were found earlier in the wreckage of the collapsed Champlain Towers South building. The other victims were discovered after search activities resumed around midnight Sunday night following the demolition of what remained left of the building. The structure was demolished around 10:30 pm Sunday (local time) using a method Levine Cava called "energetic felling," describing it as a process that "uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place," CNN reported. Rescuers have removed more than 4 million pounds of concrete in the search for survivors of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba A large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed last week, prompting a massive search-and-rescue response as many people were reported missing. The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. However, new information about the structural integrity revealed in a 2018 engineering assessment is becoming available. Experts who have analysed the available data on the collapse suggest the investigation into the reason should concentrate on potential weaknesses around the building's base. However, lightning and tropical weather conditions forced the search-and-rescue team to pause efforts once again. (With inputs from agencies)

Florida building collapse: Death toll rises to 28, with 117 missing

Explosives have been used by demolition contractors in South Florida to bring down the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building&nbsp;in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure.&nbsp; 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/lax-enforcement-let-south-florida-towers-skirt-inspections-for-years-395861">Also read | Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years</a> 
 
So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. Many others barely escaped.&nbsp;

Video footage showed the rest of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, outside Miami, being demolished just after 10:30 pm local time (0230 GMT). 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/florida-collapse-toll-now-24-rest-of-building-to-be-razed-soon-395699">Also read: Florida collapse toll now 24, rest of building to be razed soon</a>

Preparing the site for demolition ahead of the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa early next week had required that the search for victims be halted on Saturday. 
 
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The majority of the building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, releasing a massive cloud of dust and jolting Americans who had not anticipated such a catastrophic urban calamity.

The unstable surviving structure posed a threat to search and rescue crews still on the scene, authorities said, though prospects of finding anyone alive had faded.&nbsp;

 
<img alt="Florida apartment demolished" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3b3f868b-e212-4deb-b984-969effb37335" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9DX3YK.jpg" /> 
 
People hug as they watch the rest of the Champlain South tower being demolished by a controlled explosion in Surfside, Florida, north of Miami Beach, late on July 4, 2021. &nbsp;(AFP Photo)

The video footage of the demolition showed smoke, dust and other debris blowing away from the site after the building came down following two loud booms.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava had announced the schedule at an earlier press conference, saying the operation would use "small, strategically placed explosives."

"The demolition itself is confined to the immediate area around the building," she said.

"However, there is dust and other particles that are an unavoidable byproduct of all types of demolition and, as a precautionary measure, we're urging residents in the immediate vicinity to stay indoors."

Storm threat

With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, authorities accelerated the demolition schedule.

County mayor Levine Cava said "bringing the building down in a controlled manner is critical to expanding" the search operation as teams have been unable to delve further due to the risk of further collapses.

President Joe Biden visited the scene last week and met grieving relatives and rescue workers, hailing their resilience and strength. 
 
The collapse sparked a massive search-and-rescue effort involving engineers and specialists from across the United States and as far afield as Mexico and Israel.

Survivors reported being awakened around 1:30 am (0530 GMT) Thursday by what sounded like cracks of thunder that shook their rooms.

"It was like an earthquake," Janette Aguero, who escaped from the tower's 11th floor with her family, said.

Rescuers who arrived in the moments after the tower came down helped evacuate dozens of residents and pulled one teenage boy alive from the rubble.

No other survivors have been found, despite the deployment of sniffer dogs and cranes for lifting debris.

Experts are looking at possible pre-existing critical flaws in the building's structure.

A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of "major structural damage" in the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to columns and beams in the parking garage. 
 
In a letter to residents in April, Jean Wodnicki, chair of the condo association, described "accelerating" damage to the 40-year-old building since then, and repairs had been set to begin soon.

Several cases of Covid-19 had been found among searchers. One team was pulled out and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Explosives have been used by demolition contractors in South Florida to bring down the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure.

Explosives have been used by demolition contractors in South Florida to bring down the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in a controlled demolition before Tropical Storm Elsa threatens the unstable structure. Also read | Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. Many others barely escaped. Video footage showed the rest of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, outside Miami, being demolished just after 10:30 pm local time (0230 GMT). Also read: Florida collapse toll now 24, rest of building to be razed soon Preparing the site for demolition ahead of the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa early next week had required that the search for victims be halted on Saturday. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba The majority of the building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, releasing a massive cloud of dust and jolting Americans who had not anticipated such a catastrophic urban calamity. The unstable surviving structure posed a threat to search and rescue crews still on the scene, authorities said, though prospects of finding anyone alive had faded. People hug as they watch the rest of the Champlain South tower being demolished by a controlled explosion in Surfside, Florida, north of Miami Beach, late on July 4, 2021. (AFP Photo) The video footage of the demolition showed smoke, dust and other debris blowing away from the site after the building came down following two loud booms. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava had announced the schedule at an earlier press conference, saying the operation would use "small, strategically placed explosives." "The demolition itself is confined to the immediate area around the building," she said. "However, there is dust and other particles that are an unavoidable byproduct of all types of demolition and, as a precautionary measure, we're urging residents in the immediate vicinity to stay indoors." Storm threat With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, authorities accelerated the demolition schedule. County mayor Levine Cava said "bringing the building down in a controlled manner is critical to expanding" the search operation as teams have been unable to delve further due to the risk of further collapses. President Joe Biden visited the scene last week and met grieving relatives and rescue workers, hailing their resilience and strength. The collapse sparked a massive search-and-rescue effort involving engineers and specialists from across the United States and as far afield as Mexico and Israel. Survivors reported being awakened around 1:30 am (0530 GMT) Thursday by what sounded like cracks of thunder that shook their rooms. "It was like an earthquake," Janette Aguero, who escaped from the tower's 11th floor with her family, said. Rescuers who arrived in the moments after the tower came down helped evacuate dozens of residents and pulled one teenage boy alive from the rubble. No other survivors have been found, despite the deployment of sniffer dogs and cranes for lifting debris. Experts are looking at possible pre-existing critical flaws in the building's structure. A 2018 report released by city officials revealed fears of "major structural damage" in the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to columns and beams in the parking garage. In a letter to residents in April, Jean Wodnicki, chair of the condo association, described "accelerating" damage to the 40-year-old building since then, and repairs had been set to begin soon. Several cases of Covid-19 had been found among searchers. One team was pulled out and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected. (With inputs from agencies)

Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue to resume

As the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in Florida were demolished using explosives, animal rights activists are unhappy with the decision.<o:p></o:p>

Animal rights activists have raised their voices against the ignorance of authorities towards animals stuck in the building.

<o:p>Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rest-of-collapsed-florida-apartment-demolished-ahead-of-storm-search-and-rescue-to-resume-395845">Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue mission to resume</a></o:p>

Several people came together to sign a petition urging local authorities to conduct a search and rescue mission for pets and other animals stuck in that building before demolishing the structure.<o:p></o:p>

"When the evacuation was over many animals had been left behind and are still in the building. Now there are plans to demolish the building with the trapped animals still inside," the petition’s description read.<o:p></o:p>

"Families lost so much, they need their pet companions. Helping people cope is so important at the moment. I hope authorities allow them to be reunited as soon as possible," it added.

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/florida-condo-collapse-israelis-fight-despair-while-aiding-survivors-395978">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/florida-condo-collapse-israelis-fight-despair-while-aiding-survivors-395978/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

However, the demolition took place without any rescue mission for animals. Although the petition has now been closed, the moderator has assured the fellow activists that the "pet guardians wont be silenced''.<o:p></o:p>

"There is no proof of any animal searching had been done.&nbsp;This is a crime!!!," the moderator said. "Many people didn’t know the name of the Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, now we won’t forget."

<o:p>So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. Many others barely escaped.&nbsp;</o:p>

The demolition was hurried as the Tropical Storm Elsa is rumbling northward through the Caribbean.

As the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in Florida were demolished using explosives, animal rights activists are unhappy with the decision.

As the remaining parts of a partially collapsed apartment building in Florida were demolished using explosives, animal rights activists are unhappy with the decision. Animal rights activists have raised their voices against the ignorance of authorities towards animals stuck in the building. Also read | Rest of collapsed Florida apartment demolished ahead of storm, search and rescue mission to resume Several people came together to sign a petition urging local authorities to conduct a search and rescue mission for pets and other animals stuck in that building before demolishing the structure. "When the evacuation was over many animals had been left behind and are still in the building. Now there are plans to demolish the building with the trapped animals still inside," the petition’s description read. "Families lost so much, they need their pet companions. Helping people cope is so important at the moment. I hope authorities allow them to be reunited as soon as possible," it added. WATCH | However, the demolition took place without any rescue mission for animals. Although the petition has now been closed, the moderator has assured the fellow activists that the "pet guardians wont be silenced''. "There is no proof of any animal searching had been done. This is a crime!!!," the moderator said. "Many people didn’t know the name of the Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, now we won’t forget." So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. Many others barely escaped. The demolition was hurried as the Tropical Storm Elsa is rumbling northward through the Caribbean.

'A crime': Animal rights activist protest demolition of Florida building

Out of the smoke and cinders of a city convulsed by race riots and an immigration crisis, the towers kept rising, each new development remaking Miami’s skyline in the early 1980s and marking an ambitious bet that the battered community would turn itself around.

Over the next 40 years, high-rises like Champlain Towers, in the sleepy, beachfront enclave of Surfside, stood witness to Miami’s remarkable rebound, luxurious, multistory symbols of endurance — of booms and busts but also the harsh South Florida elements: scorching sun and driving rains, battering winds and slashing saltwater.

Florida’s high-rise building regulations have long been among the strictest in the nation. But after parts of Champlain Towers South tumbled down on June 24, killing at least 24 people and leaving 121 unaccounted for, evidence has mounted that those rules have been enforced unevenly by local governments, and sometimes not at all.

Miami-Dade County officials said last week that they were prioritizing reviews of 24 multistory buildings that either had failed major structural or electrical inspections required after 40 years or had not submitted the reports in the first place. But the county’s own records show that 17 of those cases had been open for a year or more. Two cases were against properties owned by the county itself. The oldest case had sat unresolved since 2008.

In the tiny town of Bay Harbor Islands, two teardrops of land in Biscayne Bay that lie just north and west of Surfside, more than a dozen multistory structures or large commercial buildings that had been scheduled to turn in inspection reports had not submitted them as of last week, records show. One property appeared to be more than seven years late in filing.

The city of North Miami Beach had tried and failed for years to bring a 10-story condo building within its borders, Crestview Towers, into compliance with the 40-year recertification requirements. When the building’s condo association finally submitted the required paperwork last week, about nine years late, it documented critical safety concerns, a city spokesperson said. Officials evacuated the building Friday.

Meanwhile, the same local governments were pursuing a haphazard approach to identifying other potentially unsafe buildings across the region, with the age and height criteria that would prompt added scrutiny varying from one place to the next. At least one local government, the village of Key Biscayne, was opting to conduct no extra inspections at all, an official there said.

Even if building auditors focus only on towers of 10 stories or more that were built in the 1970s and 1980s, the task would still be daunting. An analysis of property records by The New York Times shows that at least 270 such buildings dot the skylines of Miami-Dade County’s cities, villages and towns, with dozens more in the county’s unincorporated reaches.

Investigators have yet to determine whether the Champlain Towers South collapse was caused by inherent structural problems, a lack of needed maintenance or some other, unknown factor. They were forced to pause work at the site last week amid concerns that the portions of the building that were still standing had become unstable and could collapse at any time. On Sunday, officials demolished the remainder of the building as a tropical storm bore down on Florida from the Caribbean.

The patchwork response to the Champlain Towers South collapse, and lack of answers about what caused the building to fall, were doing little to ease the minds of South Florida condo residents, some of whom had begun to eye their waterfront homes with sudden fear. Such concerns only intensified over the weekend after local officials evacuated a second building, this time a three-story structure in Miami Beach with 24 condo units, after authorities found a failure in the flooring system and “excessive deflection on an exterior wall.”

“Every time there is a noise or a rumble, you start to think, ‘How safe is this building?’” Albert M. Barg, 77, said of his 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach. The answer, he added, was “I don’t know.”

Dyann Piltser, 49, said she had put her Sunny Isles Beach condo up for sale. “I just don’t want to live in such a large building,” she said, “with so many elements beyond your control.”

Built Amid Turmoil

Miami is packed with multistory buildings that have spent decades exposed to sun, rain, winds and saltwater.

Some went up during Miami’s art deco heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. Others rose during an era of explosive growth in the 1950s and 1960s. Records show that more than 57 high-rises were built on barrier islands surrounding the city from 1970 to 1979.

The buildings of the early 1980s took shape against a backdrop of turmoil and economic uncertainty. In May 1980, rioters looted and burned large areas of the city, enraged at the acquittal of four police officers who had beaten an unarmed Black man to death during a traffic stop. Scores of Cubans and Haitians were coming ashore each day in a mass immigration event that would leave Miami’s public safety and social service agencies overwhelmed under the weight of some 150,000 new arrivals.

The combined effect was an exodus that pushed down property values in the city and surrounding communities, which had their own problems. South Beach was so awash in crime in 1980 that many were afraid even to walk its streets, said Merrett Stierheim, who was the county manager at the time. “I remember putting my feet on the floor and asking myself, ‘What in the hell is next?’” Stierheim recalled of those days. “It was a long struggle for Miami-Dade and all our cities to get a handle on this.”

In 1981, the year the Champlain Towers buildings were completed, Time magazine published a cover story titled, “Paradise Lost?” that singled out South Florida for its high rates of violent crime and drug smuggling.

The project’s developer, a Toronto lawyer and businessman named Nathan Reiber, who died in 2014, had run afoul of Canadian tax authorities before moving to Florida in the 1970s, and he eventually would plead guilty to a tax evasion charge in Canada, The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario reported. While the Champlain Towers were being built, other developers criticized city officials for accepting campaign contributions from the project in exchange for helping it along.

Grand jury inquiries through the 1980s and 1990s documented slipshod work by Miami-area building inspectors, though much of that scrutiny focused on inspections of single-family homes. Other criminal investigations have singled out government employees for taking gifts from developers, including, most recently, the top building official in Miami Beach.

Still, there was no evidence that high-rise buildings constructed during that era have been any more prone to problems than others, engineering experts and builders said.

Residents and visitors of older buildings across the Miami area in recent days have posted photos and videos of failing concrete and other problems on social media, but such defects are often superficial and not cause for alarm. “All concrete cracks — it’s made to crack,” said Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural engineer hired by Surfside to help investigate the Champlain Towers collapse. “The issue is to understand what the crack is, what might have caused it if anything, and then making sure it doesn’t cause more problems.”

Property data shows that more than 30 high-rises were built in coastal Miami areas from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, and records and interviews suggest that their states of repair vary widely from building to building.

Eleven of those towers were 12 stories or higher and built in the three years preceding the construction of Champlain Towers South. All are now past the age at which they should have submitted reports proving they had been scrutinized by an engineer for structural and electrical problems.

In one such report, an engineer noted last year that several concrete support columns had deteriorated in the parking garage of Winston Towers 700, a 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach built in 1980. The problem most likely occurred as a result of pool chemicals leaking onto them from above, the engineer wrote, noting that while the columns appeared to have been properly shored up, they would have to be repaired before he would certify the building as safe. It was not clear whether the work was completed.

In another report, for the 19-story Bal Harbour 101 on Collins Avenue, less than 2 miles north of where the Champlain Towers stood, the engineering inspector documented a need for concrete repairs to the pool deck and waterproofing of the building’s north deck but concluded that the overall building structure was in good condition. Even so, he noted, concrete spalling and corrosion of reinforcement metal in the pool’s pump room would require significant structural repairs.

Recertification regulations required the building to complete an inspection report around 2018, when the building turned 40. But the process lagged, and records show that the village did not certify that the high-rise was in compliance until July 1 — a week after the Champlain Towers South collapse.

The condo building’s manager, Igor Bond, said Friday that he had been getting calls from concerned residents for a week. “They’re asking me about how safe the building is,” Bond said, “and we’re telling them, ‘Absolutely!’ ”

The condo association’s president did not respond to a request for comment.

Uneven Enforcement

Unlike the standards for single-family homes, which were blasted by critics after entire neighborhoods were wiped out by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the regulations for multistory structures have been among the toughest in the nation since the 1950s, builders and engineers said. One major reason: Many of the area’s first high-rises went up along the ocean, and officials wanted to be sure they could stand up to hurricane winds, flooding and rain.

“Permits and the codes were always tough in South Florida,” said Oscar Sklar, an architect and builder who helped complete Champlain Towers East in Surfside in 1994. “I don’t think it was any more lenient before than now.”

The regulations became even tougher in the 1970s, when the collapse of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration building led to the 40-year recertification requirements.

They were strengthened once more in the mid-1980s, after a condo complex in Cocoa Beach, which is about 60 miles east of Orlando, collapsed during construction, killing 11 workers. That change required developers to hire independent inspectors to monitor the structural integrity of multistory development projects as they progressed, but it was not in effect when Champlain Towers South was going up in 1981.

Even so, buildings across the region have racked up histories of violations, allowed to linger in some cases as a result of spotty compliance and enforcement.

Bay Harbor Islands, for one, has struggled to bring all of its buildings into compliance with the tough recertification rules. Fourteen structures were supposed to submit 40-year inspection reports in 2020.

Six of those never responded to notices, records show. The town sent certified letters to three property owners, but the letters were returned. Four other buildings submitted reports but were rejected because the buildings needed to do more work.

As of last week, town records listed only one building as having successfully completed the process.

“The small number of buildings that have yet to comply with the 40-year inspection have already received a notice of violation, and they are subject to fines if they do not timely comply with the certification process,” Maria Lasday, the town manager of Bay Harbor Islands, said in an email.

In North Miami Beach, where Crestview Towers was evacuated Friday, the city said it had fined the building for noncompliance repeatedly, though it was not clear whether it had ever collected any money from the property.

It was only after the Champlain Towers collapse that Crestview turned in its 40-year recertification report, which had been completed in January. A lawyer for the condo board said the board had assumed the engineer conducting the inspection had shared findings with the city, but that was apparently not the case.

“The very first page of the report, once we got it, said, ‘This building is unsafe,’” said Willis Howard, the spokesperson for North Miami Beach.

Holman J. Pérez, who had to leave his eighth-floor apartment Friday night with his wife and two children, faulted the building’s management but also the city.

“Why did the city allow this?” he said, standing outside the building. “How can they have a report that was made in January and just not turn it in to anyone? Aren’t they the ones in charge of this?”

Methodology

The New York Times combined multiple data sets from Miami-Dade County’s Open Data Hub for this analysis. Building footprint data was used to link structures to parcels. Each structure’s age was obtained from county property records. When a building’s construction year was not available, it was taken from Emporis, a website that provides building data for cities across the world. The building footprint data was last updated in April 2019, and some buildings in the data may no longer exist. For some recent large developments, the Times manually added those buildings to the data. In cases where a parcel includes buildings built over multiple years, the oldest construction date was assigned to all buildings.

Out of the smoke and cinders of a city convulsed by race riots and an immigration crisis, the towers kept rising, each new development remaking Miami’s skyline in the early 1980s and marking an ambitious bet that the battered community would turn itself around.

Out of the smoke and cinders of a city convulsed by race riots and an immigration crisis, the towers kept rising, each new development remaking Miami’s skyline in the early 1980s and marking an ambitious bet that the battered community would turn itself around. Over the next 40 years, high-rises like Champlain Towers, in the sleepy, beachfront enclave of Surfside, stood witness to Miami’s remarkable rebound, luxurious, multistory symbols of endurance — of booms and busts but also the harsh South Florida elements: scorching sun and driving rains, battering winds and slashing saltwater. Florida’s high-rise building regulations have long been among the strictest in the nation. But after parts of Champlain Towers South tumbled down on June 24, killing at least 24 people and leaving 121 unaccounted for, evidence has mounted that those rules have been enforced unevenly by local governments, and sometimes not at all. Miami-Dade County officials said last week that they were prioritizing reviews of 24 multistory buildings that either had failed major structural or electrical inspections required after 40 years or had not submitted the reports in the first place. But the county’s own records show that 17 of those cases had been open for a year or more. Two cases were against properties owned by the county itself. The oldest case had sat unresolved since 2008. In the tiny town of Bay Harbor Islands, two teardrops of land in Biscayne Bay that lie just north and west of Surfside, more than a dozen multistory structures or large commercial buildings that had been scheduled to turn in inspection reports had not submitted them as of last week, records show. One property appeared to be more than seven years late in filing. The city of North Miami Beach had tried and failed for years to bring a 10-story condo building within its borders, Crestview Towers, into compliance with the 40-year recertification requirements. When the building’s condo association finally submitted the required paperwork last week, about nine years late, it documented critical safety concerns, a city spokesperson said. Officials evacuated the building Friday. Meanwhile, the same local governments were pursuing a haphazard approach to identifying other potentially unsafe buildings across the region, with the age and height criteria that would prompt added scrutiny varying from one place to the next. At least one local government, the village of Key Biscayne, was opting to conduct no extra inspections at all, an official there said. Even if building auditors focus only on towers of 10 stories or more that were built in the 1970s and 1980s, the task would still be daunting. An analysis of property records by The New York Times shows that at least 270 such buildings dot the skylines of Miami-Dade County’s cities, villages and towns, with dozens more in the county’s unincorporated reaches. Investigators have yet to determine whether the Champlain Towers South collapse was caused by inherent structural problems, a lack of needed maintenance or some other, unknown factor. They were forced to pause work at the site last week amid concerns that the portions of the building that were still standing had become unstable and could collapse at any time. On Sunday, officials demolished the remainder of the building as a tropical storm bore down on Florida from the Caribbean. The patchwork response to the Champlain Towers South collapse, and lack of answers about what caused the building to fall, were doing little to ease the minds of South Florida condo residents, some of whom had begun to eye their waterfront homes with sudden fear. Such concerns only intensified over the weekend after local officials evacuated a second building, this time a three-story structure in Miami Beach with 24 condo units, after authorities found a failure in the flooring system and “excessive deflection on an exterior wall.” “Every time there is a noise or a rumble, you start to think, ‘How safe is this building?’” Albert M. Barg, 77, said of his 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach. The answer, he added, was “I don’t know.” Dyann Piltser, 49, said she had put her Sunny Isles Beach condo up for sale. “I just don’t want to live in such a large building,” she said, “with so many elements beyond your control.” Built Amid Turmoil Miami is packed with multistory buildings that have spent decades exposed to sun, rain, winds and saltwater. Some went up during Miami’s art deco heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. Others rose during an era of explosive growth in the 1950s and 1960s. Records show that more than 57 high-rises were built on barrier islands surrounding the city from 1970 to 1979. The buildings of the early 1980s took shape against a backdrop of turmoil and economic uncertainty. In May 1980, rioters looted and burned large areas of the city, enraged at the acquittal of four police officers who had beaten an unarmed Black man to death during a traffic stop. Scores of Cubans and Haitians were coming ashore each day in a mass immigration event that would leave Miami’s public safety and social service agencies overwhelmed under the weight of some 150,000 new arrivals. The combined effect was an exodus that pushed down property values in the city and surrounding communities, which had their own problems. South Beach was so awash in crime in 1980 that many were afraid even to walk its streets, said Merrett Stierheim, who was the county manager at the time. “I remember putting my feet on the floor and asking myself, ‘What in the hell is next?’” Stierheim recalled of those days. “It was a long struggle for Miami-Dade and all our cities to get a handle on this.” In 1981, the year the Champlain Towers buildings were completed, Time magazine published a cover story titled, “Paradise Lost?” that singled out South Florida for its high rates of violent crime and drug smuggling. The project’s developer, a Toronto lawyer and businessman named Nathan Reiber, who died in 2014, had run afoul of Canadian tax authorities before moving to Florida in the 1970s, and he eventually would plead guilty to a tax evasion charge in Canada, The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario reported. While the Champlain Towers were being built, other developers criticized city officials for accepting campaign contributions from the project in exchange for helping it along. Grand jury inquiries through the 1980s and 1990s documented slipshod work by Miami-area building inspectors, though much of that scrutiny focused on inspections of single-family homes. Other criminal investigations have singled out government employees for taking gifts from developers, including, most recently, the top building official in Miami Beach. Still, there was no evidence that high-rise buildings constructed during that era have been any more prone to problems than others, engineering experts and builders said. Residents and visitors of older buildings across the Miami area in recent days have posted photos and videos of failing concrete and other problems on social media, but such defects are often superficial and not cause for alarm. “All concrete cracks — it’s made to crack,” said Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural engineer hired by Surfside to help investigate the Champlain Towers collapse. “The issue is to understand what the crack is, what might have caused it if anything, and then making sure it doesn’t cause more problems.” Property data shows that more than 30 high-rises were built in coastal Miami areas from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, and records and interviews suggest that their states of repair vary widely from building to building. Eleven of those towers were 12 stories or higher and built in the three years preceding the construction of Champlain Towers South. All are now past the age at which they should have submitted reports proving they had been scrutinized by an engineer for structural and electrical problems. In one such report, an engineer noted last year that several concrete support columns had deteriorated in the parking garage of Winston Towers 700, a 23-story condo building in Sunny Isles Beach built in 1980. The problem most likely occurred as a result of pool chemicals leaking onto them from above, the engineer wrote, noting that while the columns appeared to have been properly shored up, they would have to be repaired before he would certify the building as safe. It was not clear whether the work was completed. In another report, for the 19-story Bal Harbour 101 on Collins Avenue, less than 2 miles north of where the Champlain Towers stood, the engineering inspector documented a need for concrete repairs to the pool deck and waterproofing of the building’s north deck but concluded that the overall building structure was in good condition. Even so, he noted, concrete spalling and corrosion of reinforcement metal in the pool’s pump room would require significant structural repairs. Recertification regulations required the building to complete an inspection report around 2018, when the building turned 40. But the process lagged, and records show that the village did not certify that the high-rise was in compliance until July 1 — a week after the Champlain Towers South collapse. The condo building’s manager, Igor Bond, said Friday that he had been getting calls from concerned residents for a week. “They’re asking me about how safe the building is,” Bond said, “and we’re telling them, ‘Absolutely!’ ” The condo association’s president did not respond to a request for comment. Uneven Enforcement Unlike the standards for single-family homes, which were blasted by critics after entire neighborhoods were wiped out by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the regulations for multistory structures have been among the toughest in the nation since the 1950s, builders and engineers said. One major reason: Many of the area’s first high-rises went up along the ocean, and officials wanted to be sure they could stand up to hurricane winds, flooding and rain. “Permits and the codes were always tough in South Florida,” said Oscar Sklar, an architect and builder who helped complete Champlain Towers East in Surfside in 1994. “I don’t think it was any more lenient before than now.” The regulations became even tougher in the 1970s, when the collapse of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration building led to the 40-year recertification requirements. They were strengthened once more in the mid-1980s, after a condo complex in Cocoa Beach, which is about 60 miles east of Orlando, collapsed during construction, killing 11 workers. That change required developers to hire independent inspectors to monitor the structural integrity of multistory development projects as they progressed, but it was not in effect when Champlain Towers South was going up in 1981. Even so, buildings across the region have racked up histories of violations, allowed to linger in some cases as a result of spotty compliance and enforcement. Bay Harbor Islands, for one, has struggled to bring all of its buildings into compliance with the tough recertification rules. Fourteen structures were supposed to submit 40-year inspection reports in 2020. Six of those never responded to notices, records show. The town sent certified letters to three property owners, but the letters were returned. Four other buildings submitted reports but were rejected because the buildings needed to do more work. As of last week, town records listed only one building as having successfully completed the process. “The small number of buildings that have yet to comply with the 40-year inspection have already received a notice of violation, and they are subject to fines if they do not timely comply with the certification process,” Maria Lasday, the town manager of Bay Harbor Islands, said in an email. In North Miami Beach, where Crestview Towers was evacuated Friday, the city said it had fined the building for noncompliance repeatedly, though it was not clear whether it had ever collected any money from the property. It was only after the Champlain Towers collapse that Crestview turned in its 40-year recertification report, which had been completed in January. A lawyer for the condo board said the board had assumed the engineer conducting the inspection had shared findings with the city, but that was apparently not the case. “The very first page of the report, once we got it, said, ‘This building is unsafe,’” said Willis Howard, the spokesperson for North Miami Beach. Holman J. Pérez, who had to leave his eighth-floor apartment Friday night with his wife and two children, faulted the building’s management but also the city. “Why did the city allow this?” he said, standing outside the building. “How can they have a report that was made in January and just not turn it in to anyone? Aren’t they the ones in charge of this?” Methodology The New York Times combined multiple data sets from Miami-Dade County’s Open Data Hub for this analysis. Building footprint data was used to link structures to parcels. Each structure’s age was obtained from county property records. When a building’s construction year was not available, it was taken from Emporis, a website that provides building data for cities across the world. The building footprint data was last updated in April 2019, and some buildings in the data may no longer exist. For some recent large developments, the Times manually added those buildings to the data. In cases where a parcel includes buildings built over multiple years, the oldest construction date was assigned to all buildings.

Lax enforcement let South Florida towers skirt inspections for years

Searchers recovered two more bodies to bring the death toll in the Florida apartment block collapse to 24, authorities said Saturday, as the search for victims paused in the afternoon so demolition crews could prepare to bring down the part of the building still standing.

The razing took on special urgency as Tropical Storm Elsa churned in the Caribbean, following a path expected to bring it to Florida early next week.

"Search and rescue does have to pause temporarily while the demolition preparation is underway. There is threat to the standing building that is posed to the first responders" as crews drill into columns of the damaged building, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.

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"We will begin the search and rescue once again on any sections of the pile that are safe to access as soon as we're cleared."

Nine days after the collapse in the town of Surfside, 121 people are still listed as missing, Levine Cava said.&nbsp;

Hopes of finding anyone alive are fast diminishing.&nbsp;

Most of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, sending up a huge cloud of dust and rattling Americans unprepared for such a deadly urban disaster.

With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, just shy of hurricane force -- and headed, for now, straight for Florida -- authorities are accelerating plans to demolish the remaining part of the structure.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjEtbDp-MjxAhX1meYKHXgDDhAQFjADegQICBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2bNdEFrfR0yL3KH34XGFwc" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659" target="_blank">Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba</a>

Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters demolition work could be completed before Elsa arrives, probably on Tuesday.

Authorities had previously said the work could take weeks, but DeSantis, a Republican, said accelerating demolition was only prudent.

He said demolition could be completed within 36 hours -- entailing "minimal work stoppage from the search and rescue teams" -- and that work sifting through the existing debris could resume as soon as it is clear that no fires have erupted.&nbsp;

Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky said meanwhile several cases of Covid-19 had been detected in one team of searchers.&nbsp;

That team, he said, had been demobilized, and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected.&nbsp;

Searchers recovered two more bodies to bring the death toll in the Florida apartment block collapse to 24, authorities said Saturday, as the search for victims paused in the afternoon so demolition crews could prepare to bring down the part of the building still standing.

Searchers recovered two more bodies to bring the death toll in the Florida apartment block collapse to 24, authorities said Saturday, as the search for victims paused in the afternoon so demolition crews could prepare to bring down the part of the building still standing. The razing took on special urgency as Tropical Storm Elsa churned in the Caribbean, following a path expected to bring it to Florida early next week. "Search and rescue does have to pause temporarily while the demolition preparation is underway. There is threat to the standing building that is posed to the first responders" as crews drill into columns of the damaged building, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. Also read | Donald Trump holds rally in Florida; questions Biden's presidency "We will begin the search and rescue once again on any sections of the pile that are safe to access as soon as we're cleared." Nine days after the collapse in the town of Surfside, 121 people are still listed as missing, Levine Cava said. Hopes of finding anyone alive are fast diminishing. Most of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the early hours of June 24, sending up a huge cloud of dust and rattling Americans unprepared for such a deadly urban disaster. With Tropical Storm Elsa rumbling northward through the Caribbean, just shy of hurricane force -- and headed, for now, straight for Florida -- authorities are accelerating plans to demolish the remaining part of the structure. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters demolition work could be completed before Elsa arrives, probably on Tuesday. Authorities had previously said the work could take weeks, but DeSantis, a Republican, said accelerating demolition was only prudent. He said demolition could be completed within 36 hours -- entailing "minimal work stoppage from the search and rescue teams" -- and that work sifting through the existing debris could resume as soon as it is clear that no fires have erupted. Miami-Dade fire chief Alan Cominsky said meanwhile several cases of Covid-19 had been detected in one team of searchers. That team, he said, had been demobilized, and medical protocols put in place to isolate anyone affected.

Florida collapse toll now 24, rest of building to be razed soon

Two more people have been found in the rubble a few days after a building collapsed in Florida, taking the death toll to 22.

After hours-long search, the firefighters were able to pull out the bodies of two victims, including a seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/death-toll-rises-to-18-in-florida-condo-collapse-395081" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/death-toll-rises-to-18-in-florida-condo-collapse-395081&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiWsaLK7sXxAhWz4zgGHSroD8UQFjACegQIAhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3btm4oruPZ6vQiEd6eX4si" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/death-toll-rises-to-18-in-florida-condo-collapse-395081" target="_blank">Death toll rises to 18 in&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;condo collapse</a>

The authorities have now decided to demolish the rest of the building which is still standing. "Our top priority remains search and rescue. I want to be very clear about that," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "We're still evaluating all possible impacts and determining the best timeline to actually begin the demolition."

When the building collapsed, nearly 200 people were reported missing. Out of the remaining 188 missing people, many have been now reported found, assumably in the nearby areas, dropping the toll of missing people to 126.

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The search and rescue mission was briefly put on hold due to safety concerns of the pile of debris in Surfside near Miami Beach. The operation was resumed in the later half of the day.

In addition to the search and rescue mission, authorities are also conducting inspection of buildings in the area. A condo building in North Miami Beach was also recently ordered to be closed after officials concluded it was following unsafe structural and electrical conditions.

(With inputs from agencies)

Two more people have been found in the rubble a few days after a building collapsed in Florida, taking the death toll to 22. After hours-long search, the firefighters were able to pull out the bodies of two victims, including a seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter.

Two more people have been found in the rubble a few days after a building collapsed in Florida, taking the death toll to 22. After hours-long search, the firefighters were able to pull out the bodies of two victims, including a seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter. Also read | Death toll rises to 18 in Florida condo collapse The authorities have now decided to demolish the rest of the building which is still standing. "Our top priority remains search and rescue. I want to be very clear about that," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. "We're still evaluating all possible impacts and determining the best timeline to actually begin the demolition." When the building collapsed, nearly 200 people were reported missing. Out of the remaining 188 missing people, many have been now reported found, assumably in the nearby areas, dropping the toll of missing people to 126. Also read | Biden celebrates pandemic victory, but Covid could be the easy part The search and rescue mission was briefly put on hold due to safety concerns of the pile of debris in Surfside near Miami Beach. The operation was resumed in the later half of the day. In addition to the search and rescue mission, authorities are also conducting inspection of buildings in the area. A condo building in North Miami Beach was also recently ordered to be closed after officials concluded it was following unsafe structural and electrical conditions. (With inputs from agencies)

Two more victims found in Florida's building collapse; 22 dead, 126 missing

At least four people have died and 159 still missing after a building partially collapsed in Miami on Thursday, city officials said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/florida-building-partially-collapses-emergency-search-underway-see-pics-393699">Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics</a>&nbsp;

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at least 120 people have been tracked down after the 12-story oceanfront apartment near Miami beach collapsed.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MDFR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MDFR</a> crews found that the northeast corridor of the building had sustained a partial collapse. Approximately 55 apartment units were impacted by the collapse. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SurfsideBuildingCollapse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SurfsideBuildingCollapse</a> <a href="https://t.co/7XcP1PeDui">pic.twitter.com/7XcP1PeDui</a>
— Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiDadeFire/status/1408074873927315456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Rescue operations have been going on for two nights at a stretch amid heavy rain with more bad weather expected on Friday, reports said. The reasons for the collapse is still unknown.

Residents were believed to have been&nbsp;asleep when the building collapsed in Surfside town as the building came crumbling down turning into rubble as rescue teams struggled to find survivors.

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We are on scene with our brothers and sisters of <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiDadeFire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MiamiDadeFire</a> during the search and rescue mission of the Surfside building collapse. I have every available resource on hand to assist in any way we can. My thoughts and prayers go out to the affected families.
— Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez III (@MDPD_Director) <a href="https://twitter.com/MDPD_Director/status/1408090560263503879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Several roads have been closed in the area due to the building collapse as the rescue team said a family reunification centre&nbsp;has been opened for those looking for unaccounted or missing relatives.

According to rescue teams, the northeast corridor of the building had sustained a partial collapse with approximately 55 apartment impacted.&nbsp;

(With inputs from Agencies)

At least four people have died and 159 still missing after a building partially collapsed in Miami on Thursday, city officials said. Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at least 120 people have been tracked down after the 12-story oceanfront apartment near Miami beach collapsed.

At least four people have died and 159 still missing after a building partially collapsed in Miami on Thursday, city officials said. Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at least 120 people have been tracked down after the 12-story oceanfront apartment near Miami beach collapsed. #MDFR crews found that the northeast corridor of the building had sustained a partial collapse. Approximately 55 apartment units were impacted by the collapse. #SurfsideBuildingCollapse pic.twitter.com/7XcP1PeDui — Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire) June 24, 2021 × Rescue operations have been going on for two nights at a stretch amid heavy rain with more bad weather expected on Friday, reports said. The reasons for the collapse is still unknown. Residents were believed to have been asleep when the building collapsed in Surfside town as the building came crumbling down turning into rubble as rescue teams struggled to find survivors. We are on scene with our brothers and sisters of @MiamiDadeFire during the search and rescue mission of the Surfside building collapse. I have every available resource on hand to assist in any way we can. My thoughts and prayers go out to the affected families. — Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez III (@MDPD_Director) June 24, 2021 × Several roads have been closed in the area due to the building collapse as the rescue team said a family reunification centre has been opened for those looking for unaccounted or missing relatives. According to rescue teams, the northeast corridor of the building had sustained a partial collapse with approximately 55 apartment impacted. (With inputs from Agencies)

Search underway for survivors in Miami building collapse; several missing

Florida building partially collapses; emergency search underway | See pics