As emergency crews continue to search for survivors in Surfside, Florida, U.S.A, June 26, 2021, a couple reacts at the beach near the partially collapsed residence building.Rescue workers have set their sights on finding a miracle survivor under the rubble of a Florida apartment block that collapsed five days ago.Chief Andy Alvarez of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that a "frantic effort was underway" to reach any air pockets in which people could have survived.Since Thursday's collapse of the Surfside building, north Miami, no one has been pulled from the site.At least 11 people died.Officials say that more than 150 people remain missing and they refuse to give up on hope."We're going on and will continue to work ceaselessly to exhaust all options in our search," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stated to media. "The search and rescue operation continues."Rescuers are currently searching the rubble under intense heat and humidity. Multiple fires within the debris slowed initial efforts.Teams from Israel and Mexico have joined the US emergency teams to assist in this difficult, 24-hour operation. To help uncover any air pockets within the 12-storey wreckage, machinery has helped move large slabs. A trench measuring 125ft (38m), 40ft in depth and measuring 125ft long has been constructed.Charles Burkett, the Surfside Mayor, previously stated that the building was "pancaked", with 10 foot or more spaces reduced to "just feet".ABC News was informed by Mr Alvarez that several voids had been discovered. The cranes brought to the site had helped them "to laminate the building almost like an onion so that they can get in and find the voids that might be there and rescue the people."To search for signs and symptoms of life, sniffer dogs are used as well as listening devices. They have yet to find survivors.Continue the storyMaggie Castro, a paramedic from the Miami-Dade fire department, said to AFP that she heard "falling debris" and "twisting metal." "We haven't heard any human sounds."Who are the victims?Officials have so far identified eight of the 11 victims: Gladys Lozano (79), and Antonio, 83; Stacie Fang, 54; Manuel LaFont also 54; Leon Oliwkowicz 80; Christina Beatriz Elvira 74; Luis Andres Bermudez 26; and Anna Ortiz 46.Ms Fang's 15-year-old son was pulled from the rubble alive.Alfredo Ramirez III, Miami Dade Police Director, stated Monday that rapid DNA tests would be used to identify victims who were found among the ruins.What has happened to the building?Champlain Towers South housed 136 apartments. 55 of these fell on Thursday morning, leaving behind piles of rubble.Barry Cohen, a resident, was lying in bed in the section of the building that survived the collapse and said it sounded like thunder.He said, "When we opened that door, there wasn't a building there. It was just a pile rubble."Map of MiamiFederal investigators are already present on the scene and trying to determine the cause of the collapse. They also want to preserve evidence.On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated that the investigation by National Institute of Standards and Technology, (NIST), would take a thorough look and will not be completed in less than a day."This will take a while. He said that this is the time horizon they use.Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, stated that there are many federal officials on the scene, including geotechnical experts and structural engineers, as well as building science experts and geotechnical specialists, the FBI, Army Corp of Engineers.She stated that President Joe Biden believes that an investigation should be conducted, but she did not specify the agency that should conduct a federal probe.Florida law requires that buildings be inspected once every 40 years. The Champlain Towers complex, which has been in existence since 1980, was about to undergo its recertification.However, there were a few reports that had already been completed on the building before this inspection.A report by an engineer from 2018 was made public Saturday. It highlighted "a major mistake" in the original design for the 12-storey building on the seafront. The engineer claimed that the fault prevented water from draining from the building's base.According to the report, there was "major structural damage" to concrete platforms beneath the pool deck. The report also mentioned "abundant cracking in columns, beams, and walls" within the garage.Although the report didn't suggest that the building, which is 40 years old, was in imminent danger of falling, Frank Morabito, the engineer, recommended that concrete repairs be made "as soon as possible".A study by Florida International University researchers last year found that the building was sinking at a rate at which it could have been structurally affected.Professor Shimon Wdowinski was the author of the study and told the Miami Herald newspaper that he had seen more than that. However, the study stood out because the majority of the area was stable with no subsidence.Prof Wdowinski stated that the research was not intended to provide certainty regarding the latest incident.
