Surfside condo collapse: Death toll rises to 20; 128 unaccounted for
This browser does not support the video element.
By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
SURFSIDE, Fla. — The death toll after last week’s condo building collapse in Surfside has risen to 20 as crews continue to search for survivors while officials monitor for a possible hurricane headed for the Florida coast.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said two more bodies have been pulled from the wreckage left when the Champlain Towers South building partially collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24.
“Tragically, one of those victims was the 7-year-old daughter of a City of Miami firefighter,” she said.
Officials did not immediately release the girl’s name. So far, authorities have released the names of 17 of the building collapse victims. They have been identified as Hilda Noriega, 92; Antonio Lozano, 83; Magaly Elena Delgado, 80; Leon Oliwkowicz, 80; Gladys Lozano, 79; Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74; Frank Kleiman, 55; Stacie Dawn Fang, 54; Manuel LaFont, 54; Marcus Joseph Guara, 52; Michael Davis, 50; Anna Ortiz, 46; Anaely Rodriguez, 42; Luis Bermudez, 26; Andreas Giannitsopoulos, 21; Lucia Guara, 10; and Emma Guara, 4.
As of Friday morning, Cava said 128 people remained unaccounted for as officials continue to audit the list of people still missing.
“In some cases in which we originally received a report of a potentially missing person, that report was only listed as one person,” Cava said. “But when the detectives were able to reach and verify the safety of the person in question, we discovered that there are in fact several family members who could have been accounted for, potentially, in the building, and now we can mark them as safe.”
Surfside collapse President Joe Biden listens during a briefing with first responders and local officials in Miami Beach, Thursday, July 1, 2021, on the condo tower that collapsed in Surfside, Fla., last week. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP)
Surfside collapse President Joe Biden meets with first responders in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, July 1, 2021, who were working on the condo tower that collapsed in Surfside, Fla., last week. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP)
Surfside collapse A diagram is seen on the wall during the briefing with President Joe Biden and first responders and local officials during a briefing in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, July 1, 2021, on the condo tower that collapsed in Surfside, Fla., a week ago. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP)
Surfside collapse President Joe Biden, center, listens as Incident Commander Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, right, speaks during a briefing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, first responders and local officials in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, July 1, 2021, on the condo tower that collapsed in Surfside, Fla., last week. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP)
Surfside collapse President Joe Biden meets with first responders in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, July 1, 2021, who were working on the condo tower that collapsed in Surfside, Fla., last week. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP)
Surfside collapse Furniture and household items are perched in the remains of destroyed apartments, in the still standing section of the Champlain Towers South condo building on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Scores of people remain missing one week after the building partially collapsed.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey/AP)
Surfside collapse Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing almost a week after it partially collapsed, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse A man prays during a session of evening prayers, known as vespers, dedicated to people impacted by the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Miami Beach, Fla. Church officials said between 18 and 22 of their parishioners were among the scores of people who have been missing since last Thursday's collapse of the oceanfront condominium in adjacent Surfside. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Surfside collapse Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing almost a week after it partially collapsed, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse A dog working with search and rescue personnel barks to alert them after sniffing a spot atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing almost a week after it partially collapsed, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Surfside collapse Workers peer up at the rubble pile at the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building, ahead of a planned visit to the site by President Joe Biden, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Search and rescue workers, who have had to contend with summer rainstorms, fires within the debris, and the threat of collapse from the still standing portion of the building, were not visible atop the rubble on Thursday morning, as scores of people remain missing one week after the collapse.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey/AP)
Surfside collapse Leo Soto, whose high school friend Nicole Langesfeld is missing, along with her husband Luis Sadovnic, adjusts pictures at the makeshift memorial he began to the scores of people who were left missing after the Champlain Towers South condo building partially collapsed nearly a week ago, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla.. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Surfside collapse Workers peer up at the rubble pile at the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building, ahead of a planned visit to the site by President Joe Biden, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Search and rescue workers, who have had to contend with summer rainstorms, fires within the debris, and the threat of collapse from the still standing portion of the building, were not visible atop the rubble on Thursday morning, as scores of people remain missing one week after the collapse.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey/AP)
Surfside collapse Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing almost a week after it partially collapsed, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Surfside collapse Search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building, where scores of people remain missing almost a week after it partially collapsed, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse Rescue workers search in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condominium, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Many people are still unaccounted for after the building partially collapsed last Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse Rescue workers search in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condominium, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Many people are still unaccounted for after the building partially collapsed last Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse Rescue workers search in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condominium, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Many people are still unaccounted for after the building partially collapsed last Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse Rescue workers search in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condominium, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Many people are still unaccounted for after the building partially collapsed last Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Surfside collapse A Coast Guard boat patrols in front of the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building, ahead of a planned visit to the site by President Joe Biden, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Rescue efforts at the site of the partially collapsed condominium building were halted Thursday out of concern about the stability of the remaining structure, officials said.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey/AP)
Authorities spoke Friday as Hurricane Elsa spun in the Atlantic Ocean on a potential path to Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis said tropical storm force winds could reach Southern Florida as soon as Sunday.
“We don’t know exactly the tract that it’s going to take,” he said. “I’ve ordered our Department of Emergency Management to start preparing a potential state of emergency.”
The cause of the Champlain Towers South building collapse is under investigation. A 2018 engineering report found that the building’s ground-floor pool deck was resting on a concrete slab that had “major structural damage” and needed extensive repairs. The report also found “abundant cracking” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.
Just two months before the building came down, the president of its board wrote a letter to residents saying that structural problems identified in the 2018 inspection had “gotten significantly worse” and that major repairs would cost at least $15.5 million. With bids for the work still pending, the building suddenly collapsed last Thursday.