Four more bodies were recovered from the partially collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, including the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami city firefighter who was helping with rescue efforts.
Eight days after part of an apartment condominium off the beaches of Miami-Dade, Florida, collapsed in a matter of seconds, authorities have been able to rescue the lifeless bodies of 22 people, while another 128 remain missing.
The number of people whose whereabouts are unknown varies with the passing of days, as rescuers find more bodies and local authorities cross databases. The figure was reduced this Friday by 17 compared to Thursday, according to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Since the partially collapsed building of the Champlain Towers condominium reduced to rubble more than 50 apartments of the 136 it had, rescue crews have tried to find survivors, beyond the few who were located that same June 24. But since then no one has been found alive.
The rescue units, which have had to deal with the intense heat wave and a characteristic humidity of the area, resumed their activity on Thursday afternoon, interrupted at dawn that same day by alerts about slight movements in what remained standing of the building.
The two victims found Thursday night included the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter, the third minor located at the site of the collapse. The finding was especially emotional for a fire department that has spent more than a week trying to find signs of life.
“Every victim we take out is very difficult for us,” said Miami-Dade County Fire Marshal Alan Cominsky. “Last night it was even more so, when we removed the daughter of a fellow firefighter.”
The Miami Fire Department is part of Task Force 2, the group that has been assisting in the search since the collapse. The firefighter voluntarily joined the search, authorities said, hoping to help find his daughter and others who remain missing amid tons of powdered concrete.
Adding to the instability of the building is the possible arrival of Hurricane Elsa in South Florida early next week.
The storm could be near the area on Monday or Tuesday, according to National Weather Service official Robert Molleda, and tropical-storm-force winds would arrive on Sunday. However, he cautioned that Elsa’s intended path remains uncertain.
