What was left of the battered Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida, was torn down.
And with its demolition it revives the hope for families that there will be a miracle in the rubble or, at least, that they will be able to begin to heal their wounds.
After the controlled explosion of the property on Sunday night,
rescuers received the green light to continue searching for the victims of the collapse
.
A short time later, around 11:30 pm, authorities determined that all the explosives detonated and that the area was safe for them to enter.
Shortly after the demolition, the cranes were put in motion again at the site, suggesting they returned to work early Monday morning.
Crews began clearing some of the new debris so rescuers could begin to make their way to the
parts of the underground parking lot that are of particular interest.
Once there, they hope to have a clearer picture of the gaps in the rubble and where some of the people believed to have been trapped might be.
"It came out absolutely perfect. We are very, very grateful to be able to tear down this building and
move forward with our search efforts,
" said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
The demolition of the structure has been a fight against the clock for the authorities who wanted to finish the process before the arrival of Storm Elsa, fearing that the winds and rains would further destabilize what was left of the building and put at risk to rescuers.
So far,
the confirmed death toll is 24 and the whereabouts of 121 people are unknown.
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A controlled explosion
Shortly before 10:30 pm this Sunday, a loud noise of explosions resounded and
the building began to cascade
, floor after floor, causing a huge cloud of dust.
"An agent came and told us to please get in the cars and that the demolition was imminent. Suddenly
we felt three very loud explosions:
the floor shook, the cars shook and then, like a blast, in a matter of seconds, the building collapsed, "Telemundo News reporter Cristina Londoño said from the disaster area.
"Then the cloud of smoke came and we saw it approach us. We are totally covered in ash
as if we were in a volcanic area," he
added.
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The demolition took place "exactly as planned," confirmed the mayor.
The technique that was demolished the building,
energy tala
(
energetic felling
), consists of a series of
small explosions
and allows the building to collapse on itself without contaminating the remaining search area.
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No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the incident on June 24.
Miami-Dade County Police identified 58-year-old David Epstein as one of 24 documented deaths in the landslide on Sunday.
His remains were recovered on Friday.
With information from AP and NBC Miami.