Remainder of Florida condo building demolished
The remainder of the partially collapsed condominium building in Surfside, Florida, was demolished Sunday night, clearing the way for search and rescue operations to resume. What had been left of Champlain Towers South, which collapsed June 24, was brought down at 10:30 p.m.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told The Associated Press after the demolition that crews had been given the green light to resume their search-and-rescue mission.
At the time of the demolition, the remains of 24 people had been recovered and 121 people were missing. No one has been brought out alive since the first hours after the collapse.
Search and rescue operations were suspended Saturday to allow for demolition crews to work on what was left of the building.
12 days after the Surfside building collapse, the remaining part of the building has been demolished over concerns the damaged structure was at risk of falling, endangering the crews below. https://t.co/iKr6irEKtM pic.twitter.com/3Q8nYnMdd8
— CBS4 Miami (@CBSMiami) July 5, 2021
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that demolishing what was left of the building would open up more areas for rescue crews to operate.
"We are going to attack it big time and we are going to try to pull those victims out and reunite them with their families," he said.
Officials have also been worried about the approaching Tropical Storm Elsa. There was concern that strong winds could cause the rest of the structure to collapse in an uncontrolled manner if it had been left standing.