Surfside Condo Collapse: 159 Now Unaccounted For As Crews Search Through Rubble

The painstaking process of searching through the rubble has recovered three bodies overnight bringing the confirmed total deaths in the Surfside condominium collapse near Miami Beach, Florida to 4 people. Unfortunately, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says there are now 159 people unaccounted for. The number went up overnight as people called to report their loved ones missing. Only two survivors were pulled from the rubble Thursday.

The Miami Herald reports that FEMA is now assisting in the search and response effort:

President Joe Biden signed an order declaring a disaster in Florida and authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide financial and logistical support to local officials and individuals. Earlier on Thursday, Levine Cava and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed their own disaster declarations, triggering the process for the president to activate FEMA’s response.

Officials say this is still a rescue operation, and while people are holding out hope that there are some survivors, the chances of finding anyone alive at this point is slim. The rescue itself is also tricky as there are worries that the portion of the building that is still standing is unstable.

The AP adds:

“Gov. Ron DeSantis, who toured the scene, said television did not capture the scale of what happened. Rescue crews are “doing everything they can to save lives. That is ongoing, and they’re not going to rest,” he said.

Teams of 10 to 12 rescuers at a time entered the rubble with dogs and other equipment, working until they grew tired from the heavy lifting, then making way for a new team, said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, the state’s fire marshal.”

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