the last victim having been identified, the toll stands at 98 dead

Search operations carried out by firefighters since the collapse, on June 24, of a building by the seafront in Surfside, Florida (United States), have been halted, resulting in the identification, Monday, July 26 , of the last victim, as the local authorities were able to announce. The total toll of the disaster therefore stands at 98 dead.

“Thanks to heroic efforts [des équipes de secours], the last missing person has been located and identified ”, said Daniella Levine Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, during a press conference, adding that the police continued to search for evidence and human remains among the rubble.

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Causes still unknown

The twelve-story Champlain Towers South building north of Miami Beach had partially collapsed a month ago in the dead of night. If the causes of the disaster are still unknown, the first elements of the investigation nevertheless revealed that the structure of the building seemed degraded in places.

“It’s hard to believe that a month has passed since what is perhaps the greatest tragedy in the history of our community”, had tweeted on Saturday Mme Levine Cava. “Although the site of the collapse was limited to one block”, “Its impact has been felt far beyond our county, and it has affected lives around the world”, she added in a video posted on the social network.

The rest of the building in a controlled demolition, after the partial collapse of June 2021, here in July 2021.
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Only a teenager had been rescued, and the authorities announced on July 7 that they were ending the search for survivors in an attempt to find the remains of the inhabitants. After the evacuation of thousands of tons of rubble and a controlled demolition on July 4, the site is now empty, and only a few foundation walls still mark the location of the building.

The World with AFP

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