Hope is fading for the families of the victims in the Surfside, Florida building collapse.
Officials on Sunday morning said crews had recovered more bodies overnight, bringing the number of confirmed dead to nine. Search and rescue workers continue to dig through the unstable rubble of the Champlain Towers South condo building. More than 150 people remain unaccounted for. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Miami-Dade’s Fire Rescue crews dug a trench in the collapse site that will assist them in their efforts.
“We are cutting a deep trench to assist us. It is now 12 feet in length into the pile. it is 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep. This trench is very critical to the continuation of the search and rescue process.”
Despite the tireless work by the crews digging through the debris, as each day passes, the hope that families are clinging to grows more faint. But Surfside mayor Charles Burkett said on Sunday that the search will not stop.
“We are not stopping until we pull every resident out of that rubble…we have two objectives now. That is to support the family and to stay focused, to keep those rescue crews on that pile of debris bringing out residents. We have waves and waves of rescue teams that are ready to step up.”
As the search goes on at the site, many are questioning whether this tragedy could have been avoided. A nearly three-year-old engineering report showed the building had major structural damage.
Already, a team of federal officials has arrived on site to determine if an investigation into the collapse will be launched.
Featured image courtesy of: Gianrigo Marletta/Getty Images
