Tears and prayers end search for survivors of Miami condo

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SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – A dark moment of silence marked the end of a two-week search for survivors of a Florida condominium collapse, as rescuers stood at solemn attention and members of the clergy hugged a line of local officials while many of them sobbed.

The careful search for survivors turned into a recovery effort at midnight on Wednesday after authorities said they came to the atrocious conclusion that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble of the city. Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside.

“We have all asked God for a miracle, so the decision to go from rescue to recovery is extremely difficult,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference.

The death toll stood at 54 on Wednesday evening. Authorities said 86 people were missing, although detectives were still working to verify that each of the missing was in the building when it collapsed.

Rescuers had spent two weeks digging through the rubble, looking in vain for any sign of life, Levine Cava said.

“They used every possible strategy and every possible technology at their disposal to find people in the rubble,” she said. “They removed over 7 million pounds of concrete and debris from the mound. They used sonar, cameras, dogs, heavy machinery. They searched for empty spaces and victims. They ran into a building they were told they could collapse and they braved fire, smoke, torrential rains and high winds in the hope of finding people alive.

Hours before the official transition from the rescue mission to the recovery mission, these rescuers joined local officials, rabbis and chaplains in a moment of silence.

An invisible accordion player on a nearby tennis court performed Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”, followed by a piccolo playing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Firefighters from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the federal government and elsewhere were also in attendance.

On a nearby high fence, families and supporters posted photos of the victims, messages of support and flowers. Firefighters hung a banner at the top of the fence that read “Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is crying with you.”

Authorities have vowed to continue recovery efforts until they find the remains of each of the missing.

Miami-Dade Deputy Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told families in a private briefing that crews would stop using rescue dogs and listening devices.

“Our only responsibility at this point is to bring it to an end,” he said, as relatives mourned in the background.

Later, at a press conference, Jadallah said the teams remained determined to do everything in their power to complete the job.

“The resources are always there. The men and women are always there. The support is always there,” said Jadallah, who began to cry silently after speaking.

Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said he expects the recovery effort to take several more weeks.

Dennis Dirkmaat, professor of anthropology who chairs the department of applied and forensic sciences at Mercyhurst University, said he expects crews to use heavy equipment in a “top-down approach” to methodically lift materials from the debris pile, place them in containers and evaluate them. for evidence of human remains. He said the process would likely be repeated as crews moved to subsequent floors.

“It’s always a slow and tedious process to remove all of this debris. And so it’s going to take a while, ”he said.

Hopes of locating survivors were briefly rekindled after workers demolished the rest of the building, allowing rescuers to access new areas of debris.

Some of these voids existed, mostly in the basement and parking lot, but no survivors emerged. Instead, the teams recovered more than a dozen additional casualties. Because the building fell early in the morning, many were found dead in their beds.

No one has been released alive since the first few hours after the 12-story building fell on June 24.

On two occasions during the search operation, rescuers had to suspend the mission due to the instability of the remaining part of the condominium and preparation for demolition.

After initially hoping for miraculous rescues, families slowly braced for the news that their loved ones did not survive.

“For some what they tell us is almost a sense of relief when they already know (that someone is dead) and they can just start to end this chapter and start moving on.” Miami-Dade said. firefighter and paramedic Maggie Castro, who briefed families on a daily basis.

Authorities are launching a grand jury investigation into the collapse and at least six lawsuits have been filed by the families of Champlain Towers.

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