Miami condo collapse: Video shows rescuers battling Elsa as storm causes Florida state of emergency
‘This is a really harrowing experience’
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Your support makes all the difference.New footage from the scene of the Surfside condo collapse has shown first responders battling the elements as Storm Elsa threatens rescue efforts.
There are still 113 people unaccounted for following the collapse of Champlain Towers South, while the death toll on Tuesday rose to 32 after four more bodies were recovered.
Rescue crews have warned that the chances of finding survivors now are slim, but with a state of emergency in place as Elsa nears Florida, first responders are now in a race against time.
Search efforts paused throughout the day on Monday due to lightning in the area, while flood warnings were in place around the Miami Dade area.
Monday’s search efforts at the site of the tower collapse brought the discovery of four more victims, two of whom were identified as married couple Tzvi Ainsworth, 68, and Ingrid Ainsworth, 66, who lived on the 11th floor of the condo.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said victims at the scene would likely be found more quickly after the demolition of the remaining portion of the towers, which took place on Sunday.
He acknowledged how difficult it had been for survivors, many of whom had gathered at the site of the collapse as rescue efforts continued.
“This is a really harrowing experience,” he said. “You literally have people where, had their unit been 20 feet another direction, they would’ve been in rubble and their neighbour hasn’t been heard from again.”
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