SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� The death toll in the collapse of a Miami-area condo building rose to 79 on Friday, a number the mayor called 鈥渉eartbreaking鈥� as recovery workers toiled for a 16th day to find victims in the rubble. Another 61 people remain unaccounted for.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the work to recover victims was 鈥渕oving forward with great urgency鈥� in order to bring closure to the families of victims who have spent an agonizing two weeks waiting for news.
鈥淭his is a staggering and heartbreaking number that affects all of us very deeply,鈥� Levine Cava said of the latest death toll.
鈥淎ll those who have passed ... are leaving behind loved ones. They鈥檙e leaving behind devastated families. The magnitude of this tragedy is growing each and every day,鈥� she said.
Rescue workers and emergency support teams from Florida and several other states have labored in 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day at the site of the devastated beachfront condominium in Surfside 鈥� physically and emotionally taxing work performed amid oppressive heat and in dangerous conditions.
鈥淲e know that there will be long-term impacts for the teams on the front line,鈥� Levine Cava said. 鈥淭hey have given so much of themselves in these first two weeks.鈥�
Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said taking care of the mental health and well-being of the first responders is a priority. He said it is critical that the first responders communicate with each other. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to talk,鈥� he said.
To that end, Levine Cava said officials have added peer support personnel at the fire stations.
No one has been found alive since the first hours after a large section of the 12-story Champlain Towers South came crashing down on June 24.
Hope of finding survivors was briefly rekindled after workers demolished the remainder of the building Sunday night, allowing access to new areas of debris. Some voids where survivors could have been trapped did exist, mostly in the basement and the parking garage, but no one was found alive. Instead, teams recovered more than a dozen additional victims.
On Wednesday, workers shifted their mission from search and rescue to recovery after concluding that there was 鈥渘o chance of life鈥� in the rubble.
Levine Cava said the deaths of so many is 鈥渁n aching hole in the center of this close-knit family here in Surfside."
and local officials have pledged financial assistance to families of the victims, as well as to residents of the building who survived but lost all their possessions. Meanwhile, authorities are launching a grand jury investigation into the collapse. And at least have been filed by families.
Bobby Caina Calvan, The Associated Press
