Recovery effort could soon end at collapse site
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Efforts to recover human remains from the debris of the condominium tower collapse in southern Florida are nearing an end.
MiamiDade police have identified more victims of last month’s Surfside condo collapse; as of Friday, 94 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified. County officials have accounted for at least 240 people connected to the building, with just a few still classified as missing, or “potentially unaccounted for.”
A county statement said the task of identifying victims had become increasingly difficult, relying heavily on the medical examiner’s office and expert technical and scientific work. More than 26 million pounds of debris and concrete have been removed as recovery work continues.
The collapse has raised alarm and focused scrutiny on other older apartment buildings. Two highrises in MiamiDade County have been evacuated over structural concerns. On Thursday, another building, with three stories of apartments in northwestern MiamiDade, was evacuated following a partial roof collapse.
“All residents have been evacuated & @RedCross is assisting the families,” MiamiDade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava tweeted.
Helicopter footage from WSVN showed that a long section of roof overhang had fallen off one side of the complex to the ground below. The roof didn’t appear to have collapsed into any units. Fire rescue spokesperson Erika Beni
tez confirmed that the damage was limited to the building’s exterior.
A cause has not yet been pinpointed for the Surfside collapse, although there were several previous warnings of major structural damage at the 40yearold building.
A judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property on Wednesday, with proceeds intended to benefit victims of
the deadly disaster. At a hearing, MiamiDade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman ordered that the process begin to sell the site of Champlain Towers South, which could fetch $100 million to $110 million, according to court records.
The judge also approved returning $2.4 million in deposits that some Champlain condo owners had made toward an assessment to pay for $15 mil
lion in planned major repairs.
On Thursday night, dozens of people attended a multifaith vigil at a memorial wall a block away from the collapsed condo in Surfside.
“It’s impossible to comprehend this tragedy,” said Irina Kamyshnikova, who moved from Russia and settled in Surfside nine years ago.