Death toll in the collapsed condominium building in Miami Beach area in Florida has increased to 90 as recovery measures went on with crews searching through the rubble for more than a couple of weeks when the disaster happened.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Sunday morning said that at least 71 of the recovered bodies were already identified. Their relatives were also informed.
Search operations sped up in the previous weeks as the remainder of the building underwent planned demolition for the crews to sift further through the debris.
While deaths have increased, some 31 people are left unaccounted for.
On Saturday, officials said that crews were able to discard huge amounts of debris which allowed the recovery of more victims. Cava on Sunday told reporters that there had been an estimated 14 million pounds of concrete removed. She also expressed his gratitude for the international crews who came in and helped.
“We especially wanted to salute the Israeli team before they’re departing today in recognition of their unrelenting dedication and their compassionate service to our community and to the families and survivors of this tragedy,” the mayor said.
Along with the crews, the police were also deployed in the area to thoroughly list all recovered personal belongings to hand them to the families. Detectives are also on the move to assist families in tracking missing relatives as well as family property.
Sunday marked the 18th day since the Champlain Towers South building fell to the ground at about 1:30 a.m. ET.
Engineers who investigated its collapse are soon to release their findings, said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, NBC News reported.
“The early results on the concrete is that the concrete strength is very good and at, or beyond, the levels at which it should be,” the mayor said. “They’re analyzing the contents and substance of the concrete, and that’s going to take a little longer.”
