Surfside condo collapse: Death toll rises to 28; 2 additional victims identified
This browser does not support the video element.
By Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)