Death toll in Surfside rises to 60, mayor says 80 potentially unaccounted for

Source: WPLG

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Another six bodies were discovered overnight in Surfside, bringing the death toll to 60, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed on Thursday.

She said another 80 people are potentially unaccounted for following the June 24 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominiums. Detectives are working closely with crime scene and medical examiner personnel to identify victims and notify the next of kin as quickly as possible.

“Every victim that we recover is handled with extreme care and compassion,” Levine Cava said.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, the mayor said 35 victims had been identified and 34 next of kin had been notified.

She said crews will be safeguarding personal items that are found, such as wallets and jewelry and electronics like tablets and cellphones.

She said families of the victims will be able to make reports about the items so they can claim them.

The mayor said first responders held a moment of silence around 1:20 a.m. to mark two weeks since the devastating collapse.

She said faith-based leaders have been embedded in the operation since the beginning, including rabbis and a faith-based organization to make sure that the remains of the Jewish victims are handled in a manner consistent with the Jewish faith.

“We have a tent designated on site and when a Jewish body is discovered a prayer is performed and specific protocols are followed to honor both the faith-based traditions and the integrity of the investigation,” the mayor said.

During a Thursday morning briefing for families of the victims, officials said the Israeli search-and-rescue team would be wrapping up their part of the mission and leaving on Sunday.

Officials said they believe the deepest they’ve gone so far in the rubble is the fourth floor.

Families of the victims of the Surfside building collapse, along with first responders, neighbors and local officials, visited the memorial near the scene Wednesday night to comfort each other and pray after the search-and-rescue mission officially transitioned to a search-and-recovery mission.

The families are expected to visit the site of the collapse Thursday and speak with first responders.

The night prior, first responders stood side-by-side in silence to mark the painful reality that their mission had turned into a recovery one.

“Yesterday was tough,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Thursday. “I appreciated what they did for doing the vigil, but the works gonna go on and they’re gonna identify every single person.”

Levine Cava said Wednesday that every option available had already been exhausted before crews transitioned to the recovery mission.

The mayor made the anticipated, yet still crushing announcement during a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

“It is with deep, profound sadness that this afternoon I’m able to share that we made the extremely difficult decision to transition from operation search-and-rescue to recovery,” she said. “To share this news with the families this evening who are still missing their loved ones was devastating.”

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the decision was made as those closest to the rescue efforts say the possibility of now finding someone still alive is near zero.

“Once we pull the victim out, what we’re recognizing is, you know, human remains,” one rescue official said.

Search-and-rescue teams say because the condominium building collapsed in what they call a “pancake effect,” it left them with slim chances of finding survivors from the start.

For the past two weeks, K9s trained to find survivors in the rubble never picked up a scent.

As of Thursday morning, 8 million pounds of concrete and debris have been removed from the collapse site.

Miami-Dade commissioners held a moment of silence during Thursday’s meeting to honor the victims.

Levine Cava then presented a photo slideshow to commissioners to illustrate how the county responded to the deadly collapse.

She said county departments that are not traditionally accustomed to responding to emergencies stepped up to help in seamless coordination.

The Community Action & Human Services Department ran the family reunification center.

The Solid Waste Department transported forensic evidence from the collapse site to another location for analysis and the public library system brought books and loaner items to the victims’ families at the reunification center.

Officials say this is the largest emergency in Florida’s history other than a hurricane.

“Eleven seconds of devastation was all it took for a community to be shaken to its core — the kind of tragedy that tests us and shows us what we are truly made of,” the mayor said.

About $7 million have been raised to support the surviving victims and the families of those who died in the collapse.

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Republished by the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A.