Death Toll In Florida Condo Collapse Rises To 54

Rescue workers have so far pulled out 46 bodies from the rubble of collapsed condo in Surfside, Florida, as the search is shifting from rescue to recovery.

Gatekeepers News reports that eighteen bodies were found on Wednesday and 86 more people still unaccounted for in the June 24 incident.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 33 out of the 54 have been identified and their families have been notified.

Efforts to locate likely survivors of the Champlain Towers South building collapse continued amid threat from Tropical Storm Elsa.

Gatekeepers News had reported that the remains of the collapsed building was demolished on Sunday night to avoid the risk of it falling, endangering the crews below and preventing them from operating in some areas.

Although, Elsa spared Surfside on Wednesday and, instead made landfall on the North Florida Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Meanwhile, Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said “…our hearts still hoped to find survivors, but our experience and expertise indicated that was no longer possible.”

Cominsky said search crews had used “every resource and expertise available to find life under the rubble.”

“Crews worked under arduous conditions through rain, smoke, fire and even imminent danger of a secondary collapse.

“The men and women who arrived here in the early morning hours of June 24 did not anticipate the tragedy that had unfolded before their eyes. These courageous individuals saw the possibility to save lives at the risk of losing their own and immediately acted,” he said.