UPDATEThe death toll from the collapse of an apartment complex in Florida has risen to 24. Rescue workers pulled two more dead from under the rubble on Saturday. The search for possible more victims has been temporarily halted. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to demolish the remains of the building before Hurricane Elsa hits South Florida, likely on Tuesday.
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“If the building is torn down, it will protect our rescuers because we don’t know when it might fall over. And of course, with these wind gusts, that could pose a very serious danger otherwise,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “Our mission is to get this done as quickly as possible.” The costs of the work are reimbursed by the state.
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Experts
The governor said experts told him the demolition could be completed within 36 hours, leading to “minimum work stoppages” for rescuers. He did not give a specific date on which the remains will go flat. After DeSantis spoke, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the contract had been signed to begin demolition.
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The search in the rubble was also temporarily halted on Thursday for fear that the remaining part of the twelve-storey building would also collapse. But work was resumed from Friday, after which four bodies were recovered first and two more on Saturday. The number of missing persons now stands at 124.
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Storm Elsa is on its way to South Florida and is likely to make landfall on Tuesday as a tropical storm. Rescue workers try to get as far as possible before then. They are unlikely to find survivors. No one has been found alive under the rubble except just after the building collapsed last week.
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Concrete construction
A second residential building, containing 156 apartments, was evacuated in Miami Beach on Friday for safety reasons. According to the authorities, the decision was made after engineers discovered problems with the concrete structure and the wiring.
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