The search for victims of a Florida oceanfront building collapse is nearing its end a month before firefighters halt operations at the site of the disaster that left at least 97 people dead.
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“Hard to believe it’s been a month since what may be the greatest tragedy in our community’s history,” Daniela Levine Cava tweeted Saturday, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, where Surfside is located.
“Although the site of the collapse was limited to a single block, its impact was far from our province, affecting life all over the world,” she added. And posted a video on the social network.
Local authorities said rescue teams ended their search for remains under the rubble of the South Champlain Towers building on Friday. They had been working on the site since June 24, when the 12-story waterfront building collapsed in the middle of the night.
Except for a teen who was rescued during the early hours, rescuers were unable to save any of the residents of this building, and announced on July 7 that they would abandon the search for survivors in an effort to find the remains.
France Press agency
After thousands of tons of rubble were cleared, the site is now empty, and some foundation walls still mark the building’s site, just north of Miami Beach.
Levin Cava said this week that authorities, who have been able to identify 97 bodies, believe the victim is still missing.
Miami-Dade County police continue to search for victim 98 at the location where the rest of the wreckage was stored.
If, a month after the disaster, its causes are still unknown, the first elements of the investigation revealed that the structure of the building appeared to be in dilapidated places.
The rest of the building was evacuated and underwent a controlled demolition on 4 July, as authorities believed its instability threatened rescue teams.