Status: 04.07.2021 7:24 p.m
The collapsed residential complex in Surfside, Florida, is to be blown up – faster than planned because tropical storm “Elsa” is approaching. The salvage operation was suspended. 121 people are still missing.
A week and a half has passed since a residential complex in the US state of Florida partially collapsed – more than 120 people are still missing. The authorities are now preparing to demolish the remaining part of the building as quickly as possible.
The ruin is dangerously unstable and is hampering the progress of the salvage operation in the already collapsed portion, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The part of the building that is still standing should be blown up with several detonations in such a way that the building collapses on the spot, she said.
“In order to expand the search and rescue operation, it is crucial to bring these buildings down in a controlled manner,” emphasized the mayor. The experts might search for the blast in parts of the rubble that were previously inaccessible for security reasons.
Satellite image (provided by Maxar Technologies) shows partially collapsed residential buildings at Champlain Towers South, Surfside, Florida.
Build: AP
Suspended salvage work
The search for trapped residents of the 12-story apartment complex has been suspended due to preparations for the demolition.
The demolition is urgent because tropical storm “Elsa” is moving towards Florida and the house is to be destroyed before the storm arrives. A collapse of the building section caused by the storm might jeopardize the safety of search parties if they continue to search the rubble. Cava assured that the rescue operation would continue as soon as sections of the accident site were safe.
There is another obstacle: one of the search teams had to be disbanded due to a corona outbreak. According to the chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Department, Alan Cominsky, all those affected have been isolated and their contacts traced.
Hardly any hope of survivors
About ten days following the accident, there is little hope of finding survivors in the rubble. By Saturday evening, 24 fatalities had been discovered.
The 12-story Champlain Towers South residential building partially collapsed on the night of June 24. The exact cause of the accident is still unknown. However, a report in 2018 had already identified “major structural damage” to the building, which was completed in 1981.
