The death toll has reached 16 from last week’s collapse of a Florida condominium building, as four more bodies were pulled from the rubble, officials said Wednesday.
Seven days after the waterfront tower collapsed, there are still 147 people unaccounted for, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press briefing.
“Please join me in continuing to pray for those who have lost their lives in this unthinkable tragedy, and all of their families who are grieving and all of those who are still waiting and waiting and waiting for news,” Cava said.
The announcement comes as rescue workers continue to sift through the rubble of the fallen tower, which collapsed early Thursday morning. So far 139 have been accounted for and found safe.
The crews, which include teams from as far off as Israel and Mexico, are digging around the clock in rotating shifts, even as the chances of finding survivors continue to diminish.
The announcement comes as rescue workers continue to sift through the rubble of the fallen Florida tower, with roughly 150 people missing. APCava said officials are conducting an audit to confirm the identities of all of those missing and those who are accounted for.
“Our detectives have been working around the clock to reach every single person who we have been told may be missing,” she said. “We need to verify every report.”
Relatives of the victims who remain missing have been housed in a nearby hotel since the building collapsed, and receive two briefings daily on the rescue efforts.
“It’s horrible,” said Kevin Spiegel, whose wife, Judith, is among those missing in the debris.
“There’s this optimistic view so many people have, but the reality is every day and every minute that goes by, the chances of survival are diminished,” Spiegel told The Post.
The 12-story Champlain Towers South building was built in 1981, along with a sister tower to the north on the South Florida waterfront.
A 2018 engineer’s report flagged structural issues along a pool deck above a parking garage at the site — but the condo association only recently began work on a $15 million repair project to address the issues.
The 12-story Champlain Towers South building was built in 1981, along with a sister tower to the north on the South Florida waterfront. APIn April, the head of the condo association warned tenants that the problems highlighted in the 2018 report had gotten “significantly worse.”
With Post wires
