The death toll from the collapse of an apartment tower in the Miami area has risen to 79, after workers pulled the remains of 14 other people from under the rubble of the building.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava told a news conference that 62 people were still missing and feared dead in the concrete and steel debris of the 12-storey tower.
The number of missing could change because it was still possible that not all of them were in the building when it suddenly collapsed and collapsed to the ground early June 24.
«This is an amazing, heart-wrenching number that affects us all deeply,» Levine Cava said at a press briefing.
It added that the high death toll came after tons of debris were removed from the site.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said crews have reduced the building’s pile of debris from four or five stories to nearly ground level, with some areas below ground level.
“So the progress our search and rescue teams are making is really amazing,” said Mr. Burkett.
Investigators have not determined why the Champlain South Towers collapsed without warning.
Attention was focused on a 2018 engineering report that warned of structural shortcomings.