MIAMI (Reuters) Confirmed deaths in the partial collapse of a condominium near Miami rose by four to 94 on Monday as identifying remains became progressively difficult with the recovery effort in its 19th day, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
Due to the passage of time, recovery workers are leaning more heavily on the medical examiner s office to identify recovered bodies, an undertaking that is very methodical and takes time, Levine Cava said at a briefing.
The number of people still unaccounted for dropped to 22 on Monday from 31 a day earlier, and may include some of the victims who have yet to be identified in the rubble of the 12-story oceanfront building in the town of Surfside that partially collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24.
Death toll in Surfside, Florida condo tower collapse rises to 94
The number of confirmed dead from the Champlain Towers South building collapse in Surfside, Florida, increased to 94 on Monday as officials said that the remains of four more people were recovered from the debris. The list of unaccounted-for individuals now stands at 22.
A woman walks past a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Champlain Towers South building collapse, on Monday, July 12, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. [Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell]
In a morning press briefing, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 83 of these victims had been identified and, of those, 80 families have been notified. Levine Cava also said that the grim task of identifying those who were crushed to death on June 24, when the mostly concrete 12-story seaside condominium pancaked in the early morning hours as residents lay in bed, is growing more difficult the deeper the crews dig into the rubble.
Since the collapse of Champlain Towers South on June 24, search teams have worked tirelessly to recover victims from the rubble. However, authorities said last week that the possibility of finding someone alive from the collapse was now near zero.
Search teams have shifted operations from rescue to recovery, and authorities said they hope to conclude search efforts in the coming weeks.
A search team from Israel departed the site on Saturday. The team had worked alongside first responders from Miami, Miami-Dade County and Mexico to comb through the rubble of the collapse and were recognized for their contribution to the search effort during a memorial walk near the site.
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