Condo tragedy
Efforts were halted for 15 hours due to safety concerns
Rescue efforts resume after operations are halted for 15 hours due to stability safety concerns.
Rescue efforts at the site of a partially collapsed Florida condominium building resumed Thursday evening after a 15hour pause for safety concerns, and officials said they had started planning for the likely demolition of the remaining structure.
Miami-dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the decision about the demolition needed to be made “extremely carefully and methodically,” considering the effect on the searchand-rescue operations.
The rescue work was halted shortly after 2 a.m. amid concerns about the stability of the part of the tower that still stands. Crews noticed widening cracks and up to a foot of movement in a large column. It was not immediately clear why authorities changed course.
“Finding missing loved ones continues to be at the forefront of our operations,” Miami-dade Fire Rescue tweeted soon after search efforts resumed.
The stoppage had threatened to dim hopes for finding anyone alive in the debris a week after the tower came down. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the halt was worrisome since “minutes and hours matter, lives are at stake.”
The rescue operations unfolded on the same day that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the devastated community.
The collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South beachfront condominium killed at least 18 people and left 145 missing. Hundreds of searchand-rescue personnel have painstakingly searched the pancaked rubble for potential signs of life, but no one has been rescued since the first hours after the collapse.
“This is life and death,” Biden said during a briefing. “We can do it, just the simple act of everyone doing what needs to be done, makes a difference.”
“There’s gonna be a lot of pain and anxiety and suffering and even the need for psychological help in the days and months that follow,“he said. “And so, we’re not going anywhere.”
Crews noticed several expansions in cracks they had been monitoring. They also observed 6 to 12 inches of movement in a large column hanging from the structure “that could fall and cause damage to support columns“in the underground parking garage, Miami-dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said.
In addition, they noticed movement in the debris pile and slight movement in some concrete floor slabs, he said.
Officials will work with structural engineers and other experts to “develop options” to continue rescue operations, Cominsky said.
Critical points around the site have been monitored with sensors since the rescue operation began, said Scott Nacheman, a structures specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said there were alarming indications of movement Wednesday night at three locations.
“What was of specific concern was that over the last six days we had not seen that type of significant movement, or in some locations any movement in those elements of the structure,” Nacheman said Thursday.
Rescuers also use laser devices that can detect shifts of a few millimeters, Cominsky said.
“We are constantly monitoring the building,” he said.
Heavy equipment in the rubble pile caused vibrations, according to Nacheman. Rain has also been entering exposed parts of the building, saturating items and adding weight to the floors.
Cominsky confirmed Thursday that workers tried to rescue a woman shortly after the building collapsed.
“We were searching for a female voice ... we heard for several hours, and eventually we didn’t hear her voice anymore,” he said.
Cominsky said they continued searching. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have success on that,” he said.