Surfside condo collapse: Death toll rises to 28; 2 additional victims identified

SURFSIDE, Fla. — The death toll in the South Florida condominium collapse increased Monday to 28, leaving 117 people unaccounted for as search crews continue combing the rubble after the Sunday night controlled demolition of the Champlain Towers South remnants.

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Meanwhile, inclement weather associated with the approaching Tropical Storm Elsa stalled but did not suspend efforts on the ground, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed in a Monday evening news conference.

“Truly they live to save lives, and they’ve pushed ahead no matter what is thrown in their way,” Levine Cava said, praising rescue crews frustrated by Monday’s intermittent stoppages due to lightning strikes.

Earlier Monday, officials with the Miami-Dade Police Department identified two additional victims killed in the collapse: 66-year-old Ingrid Ainsworth and 68-year-old Tzvi Ainsworth, both of whose bodies were discovered Monday.

Levine Cava confirmed that three of the four bodies recovered from the rubble Monday were discovered in the morning, and the fourth was found in the afternoon, adding that some 4.8 million pounds of concrete had been removed from the site of the collapsed building, USA Today reported.

>> Related: Surfside condo collapse: Death toll rises to 27, 118 unaccounted for

According to The Associated Press, the Sunday night demolition allowed crews to reach previously inaccessible areas, such as bedrooms where people were believed to be sleeping at the time of the building’s collapse.

>> Related: Surfside condo collapse: Watch controlled explosion bring down Champlain Towers South remnants

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told USA Today that Tropical Storm Elsa’s approach became “a blessing in disguise” because it accelerated the demolition plan, initially slated to take weeks. In turn, the storm’s approach meant emergency officials, rather than Elsa’s gusts, controlled the structure’s descent to rubble.

“It’s eliminated a looming threat, a dangerous threat for our rescue workers,” he told the outlet.

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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)

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