SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Rescue crews found another body in the rubble of a collapsed 12-story condominium tower near Miami on Saturday, raising the death toll to five as they raced to recover any survivors while fighting back fire and smoke deep inside the concrete and metal remains.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the new toll at an evening media briefing, saying the discovery of the body dropped the number of unaccounted for down to 156. She said crews struggling throughout the day in the debris also found other unspecified human remains.
The mayor also said the reason the missing number went down by three was because authorities had identified three bodies. Officials said the remains they find are being sent to the medical examiner, and they are also gathering DNA samples from family members to help identify them.
Throughout the day, she noted, rescue workers continued to go over the massive mountain of debris with rescue dogs and sonar searching for any survivors. 鈥淥ur top priority continues to be search and rescue and saving any lives that we can,鈥� she said.
Earlier, she said, a blaze 鈥渧ery deep" in the debris had posed 鈥渋ncredible difficulties鈥� to the rescue teams because of the flames.
At one point Saturday, a fire hose blasted one of the lower floors on the north side of the tower as white smoke or steam streamed out, and a bitter, sulfur-like smell hung in the air.
鈥淭he stench is very thick,鈥� Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
A crane removed pieces of debris from the more than 30-foot pile in the city of Surfside, and scores of rescuers used big machines, small buckets, drones, microphones and their own hands to pick through the rubble.
Among those of missing loved ones was Rachel Spiegel, whose mother, 66-year-old Judy Spiegel, lived on the sixth floor. Speaking alongside her siblings, she said Saturday that 鈥渨e鈥檙e trying to hold it together.鈥�
鈥淚 know my mom is a fighter. I know she loves us. I know she doesn鈥檛 want to give up. So, you know, it鈥檚 day three, so it鈥檚 hard,鈥� Spiegel said.
President Joe Biden said via Twitter that he had spoken with DeSantis on Friday to offer assistance as needed.
鈥淢y heart is with the community of Surfside as they grieve their lost loved ones and wait anxiously as search and rescue efforts continue,鈥� Biden tweeted.
Authorities announced they were beginning an audit of buildings nearing their 40-year review 鈥� like the fallen Champlain Towers South 鈥� to make sure they鈥檙e safe. The mayor asked other cities in the county to join the building review and said there will be state and federal funding to help.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have joined local and state authorities at the site, DeSantis said. He added that a nearby 鈥渟ister building鈥� of the collapsed tower is also being looked at because it was built at the same time and with the same designer.
Late Saturday, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said that a city official had led a cursory review of the nearby Champlain Towers North and Champlain Towers East buildings.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 find anything out of the ordinary,鈥� he said.
He emphasized the priority now was on rescuing anyone still alive.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing now is we鈥檙e saving lives and we鈥檙e bringing people out of the rubble. What we鈥檙e going to do in the next phase, after we address support for the families, is we are going to do a very deep dive into why this building fell down. And I imagine that鈥檚 going to be a very comprehensive sort of project,鈥� Burkett said.
Burkett had to temporarily relocate residents of the Champlain Towers North, which was constructed the same year and sits about 100 yards away from the collapsed building, and that FEMA has agreed to pay for lodging.
The mayor said he didn't plan to order residents to evacuate, but if he lived there, 鈥淚鈥檇 be gone.鈥�
Surfside city staffers had also been gathering details about Champlain Towers East, which was built in a different style and appears to have been constructed at a different time.
The news came after word of a the building had 鈥渕ajor structural damage鈥� to a concrete slab below its pool deck that needed extensive repairs, part of a series of documents released by the city of Surfside.
While officials said , DeSantis said a 鈥渄efinitive answer鈥� was needed in a timely manner. Video showed the center of the building appearing to tumble down first, followed by a section nearer to the beach.
The 2018 report was part of preliminary work by the engineering company conducting the building鈥檚 required inspections for a recertification due this year of the building鈥檚 structural integrity at 40 years. The condominium tower was built in 1981.
A federal agency specializing in disaster losses and structure failures is dispatching a half-dozen scientists and engineers to collect firsthand information on the collapse for use in determining whether to pursue a more thorough study.
The first team members arrived Friday, said Jason Averill, an official at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. That agency also investigated the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, the Joplin, Missouri tornadoes and Hurricane Maria devastation in Puerto Rico.
Separately, the government of Israel said it was sending a team of engineering and rescue specialists to assist in the search. Israeli media have reported that some 20 citizens of that country were believed to be among the missing.
Another 22 people unaccounted for were from Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay and Paraguay, including relatives of Paraguayan first lady Silvana de Abdo Ben铆tez.
Russ Bynum And Freida Frisaro, The Associated Press
