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The remaining structure of the collapsed Florida condo will be demolished with controlled charges on Sunday amid fears that Tropical Storm Elsa will topple the what’s left of the building on the rescue crews.
There are still 124 people missing, and the death toll is now 24 after two more victims were found last night, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during a Saturday morning press conference.
She issued a State of Emergency Saturday for Tropical Storm Elsa and made the ‘dramatic decision’ to sign an emergency order to raise the building before the storm hits the area Monday afternoon.
Officials told the families of people still missing in the rubble of their decision on Saturday.
While crews continue to search for victims and sift through debris for victims’ valuables, such as jewelry or electronic devices, to return to the families, they face another challenge: COVID-19.
So far, six members of one of the Florida rescue teams tested positive, Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said, and the team was removed from the site.
More than 420 other search and rescue crew members were tested and all came back negative, Cominsky said Saturday.
In terms of the demolition, officials were told Friday evening that it would take weeks to safely level the remaining structure, but Cava said the Phoenix-based demolition company Controlled Demolition Inc. came forward last night.
She said they work fast, studied the scene and said they could demolish the building before the storm reaches Southeast Florida.
Controlled Demolition Inc. says on its website that it’s demolished ‘thousands of structures across six continents using explosives.’
A follow-up meeting will be held in the afternoon to finalize details of the demolition, which could be a precarious operation as experts enter the building to bore into the structure to install explosives.
Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said the remnants of the demolished building would be removed immediately after with the intent of giving rescuers access for the first time to the garage area that is the focus of the search.
Currently, rescuers can’t go above the first floor.
Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of victims remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Florida
This photo shows the 156-unit Crestview Towers, Friday, July 2, 2021 in North Miami Beach, Fla. The city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of Crestview Towers, a condominium building Friday after a review found unsafe conditions about 5 miles from the site of last week’s deadly collapse in South Florida
A Miami-Dade County Police boat patrols in front of the Champlain Towers South condo building, where search and rescue efforts continue more than a week after the building partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Florida
Workers transport a stretcher with remains extricated from the rubble, near the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening after being halted for most of the day over concerns about the stability of the remaining structure.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Search and rescue personnel remove remains on a stretcher as they work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building where scores of people remain missing more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening after being halted for most of the day over concerns about the stability of the remaining structure
From left, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel Fai Yeung and Chief Melanie C. Adams visit the makeshift memorial setup near the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., Thursday, July 1, 2021. Search is paused because of structural concerns officials say. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday, June 24
Personal belongings are seen amid debris dangling from the remains of apartments sheared in half, in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building, more than a week after it partially collapsed, Friday, July 2, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Rescue efforts on the rubble pile below resumed Thursday evening after being halted for most of the day over concerns about the stability of the remaining structure
