FL Condo Collapse: Tower Demolition Planned; 24 Dead, 124 Missing

SURFSIDE, FL — Rescuers working feverishly to find survivors located two more bodies at the site of a 12-story condo tower that partially collapsed in Surfside last week, bringing the total number of dead to 24 with 124 still missing.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed the newest deaths during a Saturday morning news conference. During the briefing, officials also said they plan to demolish the remaining portion of Champlain Towers South as early as Sunday.

Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members that the building would be brought down “as soon as possible. First thing tomorrow.”

Jadallah also said there “may be some hiccups.” A follow-up meeting is planned for Saturday afternoon to finalize details of the precarious demolition, The Associated Press reported.

Scott Nacheman, a structure specialist with FEMA, said earlier this week that he and other engineers have been reviewing possible plans for demolishing the remaining portions of the building.

They’re looking “at several different methodologies” and meeting with all the municipalities, agencies and other stakeholders involved so “a determination can me made with regard to how we want to proceed to safely make the site operational for ongoing rescue operations,” he said.

He added, “Any demolition process takes time. It takes time to evaluate the current conditions, the planning for the demolition scheme and then the actual on-site preparations for the demo. So, best-case scenario, we’re looking at weeks before we can determine exactly what that definitive timeline is going to be.”

Demolishing the remainder of the building will create “a safer working environment” for first responders, Nacheman said. This will also “increase the rate of operations,” as well as the number of search-and-rescue workers the site can accommodate.

The city of North Miami Beach on Friday also ordered the evacuation of a neighboring condominium building after a review found unsafe conditions. The condo is located about 5 miles from Champlain Towers South.

Following an audit, the 156-unit Crestview Towers had been deemed structurally and electrically unsafe in January, the city said in a news release obtained by The AP. Officials did not immediately release details about the structural problems that prompted the evacuation, but the building had reported millions of dollars in damage from 2017's Hurricane Irma.

Meanwhile, officials and first responders continue to monitor Tropical Storm Elsa as it makes its way across the Caribbean.

Tropical storm-force winds could be felt in South Florida as early as Sunday, officials said. They’re working on contingency plans for the site and waiting to see how the storm might impact the region.

Among the latest victims of the collapse is the 7-year-old child of a city of Miami firefighter, a member of the urban search-and-rescue team Florida Task Force 2 that has been part of the efforts at the site.

Levine Cava said that every day since the condo building collapsed has been emotionally difficult on first responders.

But finding one of their own children in the devastation affected them differently, she said. “Last night was uniquely different. It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and woman are paying an enormous human toll each and every day.”

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said the child’s father was not at the site when the body was recovered, despite reports from other media outlets. Members of his team, South Florida Task Force 2, were the ones to recover the body and they notified the father.

Related: FL Condo Collapse Survivors Escaped With Lives, But Little Else

“This tragedy has haunted so many of us because so many of us know someone who has been in the building or affected by this tragedy,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. “So, now, not only do we know someone, this is a member of our family, a member of our fire family.”