Miami officials use explosives to demolish what’s left of collapsed condo tower as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches and search for missing 121 is paused
- Miami Dade County officials announced they were bringing down what remained of the building Sunday
- It was an effort to resume rescue operations after they were suspended Thursday due to structural instability
- So far rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing
- Miami-Dade officials said rescue efforts could resume as soon as 15 minutes after the demolition
Demolition crews have set off explosives to bring down the damaged remaining portion of a collapsed South Florida condo.
The demolition Sunday night was key to resuming the search for victims of the June 24 collapse and even expected to open new areas for rescue teams to work in.
No one has been found alive since the first hours after the disaster. So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing.
Workers demolished what remained standing of the Surfside condominium in a bid to open up further areas for rescue
So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing
Officials made the announcement Saturday that they were bringing the building down
Search and rescue operations could resume in as soon as 15 minutes
Search efforts were suspended Saturday to allow demolition workers to drill holes for the explosives needed to bring the damaged Surfside building down.
A Miami-Dade fire official said previously that search teams could resume their work between 15 and 60 minutes after the demolition.
Concerns had mounted that the damaged building was at risk of falling on its own. The approach of Tropical Storm Elsa added urgency to the demolition project.
The decision to raise the damaged building came as Tropical Storm Elsa bore down on the area
Stephanie Rioja prayed as the partially collapsed towers were demolished
With the entire building down, rescuers hoped to have access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest.
Officials first announced plans to bring the partially collapsed building down on Saturday morning.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued a State of Emergency Saturday for Tropical Storm Elsa and made the ‘dramatic decision’ to sign an emergency order to raise the building before the storm hits the area Monday afternoon.
Officials told the families of people still missing in the rubble and people who ran out of the building and left everything behind of their decision on Saturday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during Saturday morning’s press conference that they wouldn’t let people who escaped go back and get their possessions before the demolition.
‘At the end of the day, that building is too unsafe to let people go back in,’ DeSantis said. ‘I know there’s a lot of people who were able to get out, fortunately, who have things there. We’re very sensitive to that. But I don’t think that there’s any way you could let someone go back up into that building given the shape that it’s in now.’