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Joe Biden at the crash site in Surfside near Miami
Photo: Susan Walsh / AP
A week after the partial collapse of a twelve-story apartment building in the US state of Florida, President Joe Biden traveled to the scene of the accident on Thursday.
Biden met with government officials in Surfside, near Miami, to find out about the current status of the rescue operation, and pledged the full federal support.
Together with his wife Jill, he met rescue workers to thank them for their work.
Talks were also planned with families who fear for the lives of their loved ones or who have lost someone.
Shortly before Biden's arrival, the search for people buried had to be temporarily stopped due to concerns about the stability of the part of the building that was still standing.
The authorities stressed that the break had nothing to do with the president's visit.
Surprised by misfortune in sleep
The building with around 130 residential units had partially collapsed last week on Thursday night for an unexplained cause. The misfortune surprised people in their sleep. The search for buried victims has been ongoing ever since. Several hundred rescuers have been on duty around the clock in the past few days - with sniffer dogs, special cameras, listening instruments and heavy equipment. Almost 150 people are still missing.
The mayor of the Miami-Dade district, Daniella Levine Cava, said on Thursday, however, that the search work had been interrupted in the early hours of the morning (local time) due to the risk of collapse of the part of the building that was still standing.
The head of the local fire department, Alan Cominsky, said that experts who continuously monitored the state of the standing part of the building had observed changes that would have made the stop necessary.
The security of the search parties must be guaranteed.
The search will continue immediately as soon as it is certain.
"What you do is incredible"
Biden thanked the rescue workers for their work during his visit.
"What you're doing is incredible," the president said at a meeting with search parties.
The mission is dangerous and also very hard psychologically.
He called on the helpers to be careful.
Shortly after the partial collapse of the large residential complex, emergency teams were initially able to save several dozen people.
In the past few days, however, the authorities have only announced gloomy news.
The number of fatalities recovered from the rubble rose steadily and is now 18.
On Wednesday alone, the local authorities had reported the find of six more fatalities - including two children between the ages of four and ten.
Levine Cava complained that any loss of life was a tragedy, but the loss of children was "unbearable" and "terrible".
According to her, 145 people are still missing.
It is therefore feared that the number of deaths is likely to increase significantly.
Search parties discover "human remains"
The search parties have also found unidentified "human remains" in the rubble.
To identify victims, DNA samples were collected from relatives of the residents.
The residential complex known as Champlain Towers South dates from the 1980s.
The cause of the partial collapse is still unclear.
In the past few days, an inspection report from 2018, written by an external company, had become public, in which experts had listed several defects - including major structural defects in the building's concrete.
US media also reported on letters from the property management company, which warned of the need to renovate millions of euros with reference to structural risks.
Investigators will investigate the question of whether the apparently due renovations were related to the collapse.
The National Institute for Standards and Technology, which is subordinate to the US Department of Commerce, announced an investigation into the collapse.
The head of the agency, James Olthoff, said it could take years to get clear answers.
"But we won't stop until we determine the likely cause of this tragedy."
lmd / dpa
