Rescue workers and local authorities in Surfside, Florida gathered Wednesday night for a moment of silence and prayers, just hours after authorities announced they were giving up hope of finding survivors in the Champlain Towers condominium collapse.
Miami-Dade County’s Mayor Daniella Levine Cava made the announcement exactly two weeks after searchers began their work.
“It is with deep, profound sadness that this afternoon I’m able to share that we made the extremely difficult decision to transition from operation search and rescue to recovery,” she said. “We have all asked God for a miracle, so the decision to transition from rescue to recovery is an extremely difficult one.”
Cava praised the searchers who came not only from the local area but from across the state, country and world.
“They’ve used every possible strategy and every piece of technology available to them,” she said.
Searchers discovered eight more bodies on Wednesday, bringing the number of confirmed deaths to 54.
“At this time 200 people have been accounted for and 86 people are potentially unaccounted for,” she said. “So please join in praying for those we’ve lost and those we are mourning.”
The formal shift to recovery began at midnight, with the operation expected to last for several weeks.
Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told families the effort will continue. “The resources are still there. The men and women are still there. The support is still there,” said Jadallah, who began crying silently after he spoke.
Crews will no longer use rescue dogs and listening devices but they will continue to search for those still missing.
Initially, the Champlain Tower families hoped for miraculous rescues but they’ve since begun to prepare for the news they feared, that their loved ones did not survive.
They’re also searching for answers about why the condominium collapsed, even though there were some warning signs about structural flaws being discovered in the building.
Authorities are beginning a grand jury investigation into what happened and the families have filed at least six lawsuits.
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