Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava said rescuers in Florida made the «very difficult decision» to end their search for survivors under the rubble of a partially collapsed apartment building two weeks ago.
«It is with deep sadness that we made the very difficult decision to go from search and rescue operations to recovery,» Levine Cava told reporters in Surfside, near Miami.
“At this point, we have really exhausted every option available to us in the search and rescue mission.”
The mayor said eight more bodies were found in the wreckage of the 12-storey South Champlain Towers, which collapsed on June 24 as dozens of residents slept inside, raising a huge cloud of dust.
This brings the official death toll to 54, with 86 missing.
Ms Levin Kava said investigators will continue to work to verify if every one of them were in the building when it collapsed.
No survivors have been found since the day of the collapse.
Dozens of rescuers, engineers and specialists, including teams from Israel and Mexico, helped in the search along with sniffer dogs and heavy equipment.
Rescue workers held 15 minutes of silence after officials called off the search for survivors of a Florida apartment block collapse, saying there was no longer any hope of getting anyone alive from the rubble of the building. pic.twitter.com/DhQ9rgaXhk
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 8, 2021
On Tuesday, officials said 124 tons of debris had been removed.
Yesterday, Ms. Levine Cava said emergency personnel had gained access to new areas of rubble as a result of the demolition of what remained of the South Champlain Towers in a controlled explosion over the weekend.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the collapse.
Survivors reported that they woke up around 1.30am (6.30am Irish time) on 24 June to what appeared to be thunderbolts that shook their rooms.
«It was like an earthquake,» said Janet Aguero, who fled the 11th floor of the tower with her family.
A 2018 report by city officials revealed concerns of «significant structural damage» to the complex, from the concrete slab under the pool deck to the columns and beams in the parking garage.
In a letter to residents in April, Jan Woodnecke, president of the Apartment Association, described «accelerating» damage to the 40-year-old building since then, and repairs were due to begin soon.
Local authorities have also ordered audits of other nearby buildings.
Ms Levine Cava said rescuers were fortunate that the weather had improved, with Tropical Storm Elsa making landfall on the state’s west coast.
US President Joe Biden visited bereaved relatives in Surfside last Thursday, and praised their resilience.