Recovery effort at collapsed building could end soon
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Efforts to recover human remains from the debris of a South Florida condo building are nearing an end.
Miami-Dade police identi- fied six more victims of last month’s Surfside condo col- lapse on Thursday, meaning that 92 of the 97 confirmed dead have been identified. County officials have accounted for at least 240 people connected to the
building, with just a few still classified as missing, or “potentially unaccounted for.”
A county statement late Thursday said the task of identifying victims had become increasingly difficult, relying heavily on the med- ical examiner’s office and expert technical and scientif- ic work. More than 26 mil- lion pounds (12 million kilo- grams) of debris and con-
crete have been removed as recovery work continues.
A cause has not yet been pinpointed for the collapse, although there were several previous warnings of major structural damage at the 40- year-old building.
A judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property on Wednesday, with proceeds intended to benefit victims of the deadly disaster. At a hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman ordered that the process begin to sell the site of Champlain Towers South, which could fetch $100 million to $110 million, according to court records.
The judge also approved returning $2.4 million in deposits that some Champlain condo owners had made toward an assessment to pay for $15 million in planned major repairs.
The Surfside collapse has raised alarm and focused scrutiny on other older apartment buildings. Two high-rises in Miami-Dade County that have been evac- uated over structural concerns. On Thursday, a three- story apartment building in northwestern Miami-Dade was evacuated following a partial roof collapse, officials said.
Helicopter footage from WSVN showed that a long section of roof overhang had fallen off one side of the complex to the ground below. The roof didn’t appear to have collapsed into any units. Fire rescue spokesper- son Erika Benitez confirmed that the damage was limited to the building’s exterior.
