Miami: Rescue workers scouring the debris of a collapsed condo building in a Miami suburb in the southern US state, Florida, continued to search for survivors on Friday, as officials raised the number of people unaccounted for to 159 and the confirmed death toll to four.
With many firefighters working overnight both from under and atop the remains of the building, hopes rested on how quickly crews using dogs and microphones to sift through the wreckage could complete their grim, yet delicate task.
“It’s heartbreaking but our only focus right now is search and rescue, that’s all we’re doing, search and rescue, search and rescue, search and rescue 24 hours a day,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told NPR on Friday.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters that three more bodies were pulled from the wreckage overnight. Another person was reported to have died on Thursday. The mayor also increased the number of presumed missing from 99.
“Our unaccounted for number has gone up up to 159. In addition, we can tragically report the death count is now four,” Levine Cava said during a news briefing.
