Surfside, Florida – Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava reported this afternoon that two additional fatalities were found in the rubble of the collapsed condo building in Surfside, Florida, bringing the death toll to 18.
The official pointed out that two of the victims were minors. Earlier Tuesday, officials confirmed they had found four additional victims, for a total of six, the highest death toll in a day so far.
Miami-Dade County Fire Official Raide Jadallah told family members that first responders found the bodies Tuesday night. The names of the victims were not released.
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The whereabouts of 145 people are still unknown.
In addition to the four bodies, crews have also found other human remains. Rescuers were able to build a ramp for a crane to reach the top of the rubble where it had not previously been accessed, Jadallah said.
In the morning, the Florida government asked federal authorities for an additional rescue team to help remove the debris from the tower, highlighting the exhausting search for survivors in an area where tropical storms are frequent.
Faced with the possibility of storms in the next few days depleting search and rescue resources, state officials asked the federal government to send the additional equipment, said Kevin Guthrie of Florida’s emergency management division. Intermittent bad weather was already causing search delays.
Guthrie said the new team, likely from Virginia, would be ready to help if bad weather hits and crews who have been working for days need to take a break. Authorities say it is still a search and rescue operation, but since hours after the collapse last Thursday, no one has been found alive.
Authorities have vowed to conduct several investigations into the sudden collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside last week.
Mayor Levine Cava said she will meet with experts in engineering, construction and soils to review aspects of construction safety and develop recommendations to “guarantee that a tragedy like this will never be repeated.”
Prosecutor Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she will convene an investigative jury to study the factors and decisions that led to the collapse.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden planned to travel to Surfside on Thursday.
Friends and family erected a makeshift memorial with photographs of people who have not yet been located and who are believed to be in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condominium. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
On Friday night, the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, indicated that they have not rescued anyone else, the number of deaths remains at four and the number of missing at 159 (Fernando Medina / Special El Nuevo DĂa)
So far, 127 people have been located (not necessarily rescued at the scene). (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
In the photo, a makeshift memorial near the scene where families have posted photos of their disappeared. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
Levine Cava, warned that the search and rescue mission became dangerous due to the fires that have arisen under the rubble that remained after the partial collapse of the structure. In the photo, photos of the missing. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
In the photo, Miami Mayor Daniella Levine comes to a makeshift memorial near the scene where families have posted photos of their missing. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
People arrive around the Champlain Towers South building, on June 25, 2021. (Fernando Medina / Special El Nuevo DĂa)
In the photo, coffins ready at the response center. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
The figure at the moment and from early in the morning is 4 dead and 159 missing. At least six Puerto Ricans are among those who have not yet been located. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
In the photo, volunteers bring food and drink to first responders. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
âThe good news is that we have the best firefighters and rescuers in the world who know how to deal with a situation like this. If they are hopeful, so are we, âsaid the Miami-Dade mayor. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
The Champlain Towers South Condominium partially collapsed around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, prompting a strong mobilization of authorities in the city of Surfside in Miami-Dade County, in southern Florida. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
This is how the building was. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
In the photo, Jaime Rosenheim prays for his friend IIan Naibryf who disappeared in the building. (Fernando Medina / Special The New Day)
