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More than 140 people are missing after almost a week from a search and rescue operation amid the rubble of a collapsed 12-story residential complex in Surfside, Florida.
The likelihood of finding more living people in the rubble continued to decrease as first responders continued into day 7. No survivors have been withdrawn from the site for hours after nearly half of Champlain Towers South, a 40-year-old 136-unit condominium building, collapsed last Thursday.
The remains of 12 people have so far been recovered from the disaster area, Miami-Dade County’s Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, while 149 people are still missing.
Search and rescue teams are searching for possible survivors in the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South apartment building on June 29, 2021 in Surfside, Florida.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to the site Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week.
The Bidens plan to personally thank first responders, rescue teams and “everyone who worked tirelessly around the clock,” Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
In the aftermath of the collapse, Surfside authorities released a 2018 survey report in which an engineer warned that the building’s waterproofing was causing “major structural damage” and would need to be replaced.
“If the waterproofing is not replaced in the near future, the extent of concrete deterioration will expand exponentially,” the report said.
The Morabito Consultants report also identified “frequent cracks and flakes” in the concrete supports, beams and walls of the parking garage.
A letter from the President of the Champlain Towers South Board, Jean Wodnicki, two months before the collapse also warned of the building’s structural problems, pointing to accelerated “concrete deterioration” that had deteriorated since the first report in 2018.
The exact cause of the collapse is still unknown.
Family members hold vigil for missing victims of the Surfside condominium collapse on June 29, 2021 in Surfside, Florida, United States.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Levine Cava also announced a full investigation on Saturday, saying she would instruct the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources to immediately begin a 30-day audit of all residential properties over four floors that are 40 years or older and “the process to Identify and fix problems. “
The county will review 14 buildings that meet these criteria and 10 buildings that have already started the recertification process, the mayor said. Levine Cava urged cities to conduct their own inspections of buildings as well.
Prosecutor Katherine Fernandez Rundle also said in a statement Tuesday that she would conduct a grand jury investigation into the collapse, adding that the grand jury helped produce a report during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
“I intend to ask our grand jury to consider what steps we can take to protect our residents without jeopardizing scientific, public safety or potential criminal investigations,” Fernandez Rundle said in the statement.
Biden is backing a federal investigation into the matter, Psaki said this week.
This is the evolution of news. Please check again for updates.
—Reuters contributed to this report.
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