More bodies pulled from rubble of collapsed Florida building.
Confirmed death toll rises to nine as search continues at site of a partially collapsed 12-storey building near Miami.
Search and rescue personnel with a rescue dog continue searching for victims days after a residential building partially collapsed in Surfside near Miami Beach, Florida.
More bodies have been pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed 12-storey building near Miami, Florida, as the death toll from the incident increased to at least nine on Sunday and more than 150 people remain unaccounted for.
Emergency crews continue to search for potential survivors since the condominium collapsed in the early hours of Thursday in Surfside, a community near Miami.
Expert teams from Israel and Mexico also have joined the search.
“We were able to recover four additional bodies in the rubble as well as additional human remains. As of today, one victim passed away in the hospital, and we’ve recovered eight … victims on site,” she said during a news conference.
“So, I am confirming today that the death toll is at nine. We’ve identified four of the victims and notified the next of kin.”
As emergency responders continue to sift through the rubble – a process that was hampered on Saturday by a fire burning amid the debris – questions continue to swirl over what caused the collapse of the condominium.
On Saturday, US media reported that a 2018 engineering report had warned the building was resting on a concrete slab that had “major structural damage” and needed to be extensively repaired.
That same report also found “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.
But it remains unclear what caused the collapse.
Meanwhile, families and loved ones of the building’s missing residents continue to anxiously await news.
Some families of those missing have provided DNA samples to officials while others recounted narrow escapes.
Police released the names of four victims who ranged in age from 54 to 83.
Building resident Erick de Moura was supposed to be home when the tower collapsed, but his girlfriend persuaded him to spend the night at her place less than 3km (2 miles) away in Miami Beach, likely saving his life.
“Only by God. To me this is a miracle,” the 40-year-old Brazil native said.
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