The slow search through the remains of a 12-story apartment building that collapsed in the Surfside community, outside Miami, Florida, reached its sixth day on Tuesday.
Only two more bodies were recovered on Monday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 11. More than 150 people remain missing.
Operations have been delicate and dangerous and families, desperate for progress, endure the harrowing wait for answers as hopes fade and cling to a miracle.
Emergency crews argue that one misstep could cause piles of debris to fall into gaps or empty spaces where they trust someone might be alive.
[Which part of the Surfside building collapsed first? An expert explains how the collapse was]
"We have people waiting and waiting for news," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava lamented to reporters Monday. Wind and tide so be it. They are learning that some of their loved ones will be dismembered. This is the kind of information that is unbearable for everyone. "
According to documents obtained by CNN, the Champlain Towers South condominium association approved a $ 15 million assessment in April to make repairs required under the county's 40-year recertification process.
Members of the association received a report more than two years ago on "major structural damage" to the building before beginning the assessment process to pay for the necessary repairs, according to the documents.
The deadline to pay in advance or choose to pay a 15-year monthly fee was July 1, and prices ranged from $ 80,190 to $ 336,135.
[An Argentine family of five disappears in the collapse of the building in Miami]
The Mayor announced plans to review other buildings: "On Saturday I announced that a 30-day audit would begin immediately for all residential properties over 5 stories 40 years and older that have not completed the recertification process, to quickly identify and address any problem, "he posted on Twitter.
Authorities meet frequently with families to explain what is being done and answer their questions
.
They have addressed all kinds of questions with them, from how DNA matches occur that help identify the deceased to how they will contact relatives or explain "in detail" how the search is carried out in the mound of remains, he added the mayor.
A rescue worker pauses to look at what remains of the Champlain Towers South residential building in Surfside, Florida, Monday, June 28, 2021.AP Photo / Marta Lavandier
Armed with all that knowledge, the families are reaching their own conclusions.
“Some feel more hopeful, others less, because we don't have definitive answers.
We give you the facts.
We take them to the place.
They have seen the operations.
Now they understand how they work and are preparing for the news, of one kind or another, "added the mayor.
Rescuers remove the debris manually and with heavy machinery as they work over the precarious pile of pulverized concrete, twisted steel and the remains of dozens of apartments.
Firefighters, trained dogs and search experts using radars, drones and sonar devices participate in the work.
"We were able to find it complete": The heartbreaking testimonies of the tragedy in Miami
June 28, 202104: 09
The work remains a search and rescue operation, although no one has been found alive since the hours after Thursday's collapse.
The collapse left one layer of debris upon another, hampering efforts to reach those who may have survived in empty spaces.
"In every action there is a reaction,"
explained Miami-Dade Fire Department Deputy Chief Raide Jadallah at a news conference Monday.
"It is not a matter of tying a couple of ropes to a concrete slab, lifting it and that's it."
Some of the concrete pieces are small, about the size of a basketball or baseball.
Several people participate in a vigil on June 28, 2021, in Surfside, Florida, in memory of the deceased, injured and missing after the collapse of a residential building.AP Photo / Marta Lavandier
From outside a nearby building, more than twenty relatives watched crews excavate in the disaster area.
Some leaned on others as a sign of support.
Others hugged or prayed.
Some took pictures.
Authorities insisted Monday that hope has not been lost.
The decision to switch from a search and rescue operation to a recovery one is harrowing, Dr. Joseph A. Barbera, a professor at George Washington University, told The Associated Press news agency.
This decision is fraught with considerations that only those in the area can make, he added.
[A Surfside official ignored the alarming report of structural damage to the collapsed building]
Barbera is the co-author of a study that examined disasters in which some people survived under the rubble for long periods of time.
In addition, he has advised teams on where to look for possible survivors and when to determine "that the possibility of survival remains very very small."
"It is an incredibly difficult decision and I have never had to make it," said Barbera.
"I was hearing 'help, I can't breathe.'
What this man heard under the rubble at Surfside
June 28, 202102: 02
For reasons not yet determined, the northeast wing of the Champlain Towers building, opened in 1981 and with 136 apartments, collapsed in seconds at 1:30 am (local time) on Thursday, June 24, when its inhabitants were sleeping.
[How long will it take to know the causes of the collapse at Surfside? This tells us an engineer]
The property collapsed a few days before the deadline for apartment owners to start paying the high fees to pay for repairs of more than nine million dollars, recommended almost three years earlier in a report that warned of "significant structural damage." .
Most of the fatalities identified so far were of Hispanic origin, like many of the rescuers, including teams from other areas of the US and also from countries such as Mexico and Israel.
The first lawsuit against the Champlain Towers Association was filed on the same day as the collapse by a law firm for "failing to secure and safeguard lives and property."
The owner of an apartment in Champlain Towers, Manuel Drezner, and "others in the same situation" who can join the lawsuit once filed, claim an initial figure of $ 5 million in damages.
On Monday, two law firms, Morgan & Morgan and Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, specializing in collapse lawsuits, reported that they are investigating and exploring possible legal action regarding the building collapse.
[He was heading back to his apartment in Surfside. Instead, his girlfriend convinced him to stay at her house and saved his life]
"We are actively investigating what caused the building to collapse
, if there were warning signs beforehand that were missed or ignored, and if the system of building codes and regulations, which aims to prevent these types of disasters from occurring, failed." said lawyer René Rocha.
With information from AP, CNN and EFE.
