Here’s the latest on the search for victims of the condo collapse in Surfside.
The search for victims killed in the collapse of a condo building in Surfside, Fla., is nearing its end. In total, 97 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage, and no survivors have been found since the initial hours after the collapse. Here’s the latest on the recovery effort.
Reaching ‘rock bottom’
With about 22 million pounds of debris and concrete already removed from the site, crews have been tasked with sifting through the remaining rubble for any other possible victims. It’s unclear how much longer that could take, but the location feels “gruesome,” according to CBS Miami reporter Lisa Petrillo. “It’s brutally hot. The weather has been horrific. It’s really heavy,” she tells KCM.
Visiting the scene
“When you see that memorial wall and people coming by and crying, there’s not a person that can go by and not see those faces and get emotional,” Petrillo tells us. The outpouring of empathy and donations reminds her of the response to 9/11, but no amount of community support can erase the pain. “I walk by that area of the beach every day and I see the cranes, and every time I get chill bumps. It is a site where so many people lost their lives.”
Thanking the heroes
Jonah Handler, a 15-year-old whose removal from the debris was captured in dramatic footage, was reunited with his rescuers on Thursday. Though his mother, Stacie, was killed in the collapse, Jonah’s father was able to be with him to thank the men who saved his life. “It was obviously bittersweet because his mom died afterward,” Petrillo said, “but just to be able to shake those hands of the guys who pulled him out of the rubble was pretty amazing.”
Their last words
Officials have released nearly two dozen 911 calls from people trapped inside Champlain Towers South, as well as those who escaped, their neighbors, and relatives. The snippets of audio depict the chaos and agony immediately after the collapse. “You’ve got to get us out of here!” one woman pleaded to a dispatcher. “A bunch of us are in the garage and we can’t get out,” another caller said.
What caused the Surfside collapse?
The precise cause could take months to determine. But in 2018, an engineer discovered “major structural damage” and errors in the construction of the building. Engineers who have viewed the wreckage also noted that columns at the base of the condo may have had less steel reinforcement than what was called for in the initial design of the building.
