More bodies recovered from the wreckage of the collapsed Florida building News from the US and Canada

The number of confirmed deaths rises to nine, as searches continue on the site of a 12-story building that partially collapsed near Miami.

More bodies have been exhumed from A’s remains the 12-story building partially collapsed Near Miami, Florida, the death toll rose to at least nine on Sunday and more than 150 people are still unaccounted for.

Emergency crews have been searching for survivors since the condominium collapsed in the early hours of Thursday in Surfside, a community near Miami. Expert teams from Israel and Mexico have also been included in the search.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters that the death toll on Sunday had risen to nine, including one victim who died at the hospital.

“Among the debris we were able to recover four other bodies, as well as more human remains. As of today, one victim died at the hospital, and we have recovered eight victims … there, ”he said at a news conference.

“So today I confirmed that the death toll is nine. We have identified four of the victims and reported them to relatives.”

While the emergency services continued to traverse the debris, they prevented the process on Saturday the fire burns among the debris – questions continue to be raised about what caused the fall of the condominium.

On Saturday, U.S. media reported that a 2018 engineering report warned that the building had “significant structural damage” and was on a concrete slab that needed a lot of repairs. The same report also found “numerous cracks and concealments” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking lot.

But it is still unclear what caused the collapse.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro, who told the Surfside agency, said six to eight rescue teams are working across the rubble and hundreds of other workers are waiting. “Of course, there’s a lot of sensitivity here … There’s still hope that there are more residents who have survived underneath,” he said.

“It’s been 80 hours since the collapse, so the news here hasn’t been good, even as rescue workers make some progress in recovering the bodies.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have joined local and state authorities at the site, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday.

DeSantis added that they are also studying the “sister building” around the collapsed tower, which was built at the same time and with the same design. A voluntary evacuation order has been issued for the other building and an inspector has not immediately found any apparent problems.

Fire chief Alan Cominsky told reporters on Sunday that the situation remains “very difficult” but that search and rescue teams are working “uninterruptedly”.

“We’re doing everything we can, looking for everything we can, with a little hope to see if we can find the victim alive,” Cominsky said, adding that the heaviest equipment (including cranes) has been brought. we continue, the searches will change, ”he said.

Meanwhile, relatives and loved ones of the building’s missing residents are still waiting for news. Some families of the missing have donated DNA samples to officials and others have reported close escapes.

Police released the names of four victims between the ages of 54 and 83.

A woman on the beach prays next to the building as emergency crews continue search and rescue operations [Marco Bello/Reuters]

The residence of the Erick de Moura building was supposed to be home when the tower collapsed, but his girlfriend convinced him to spend the night less than 3 miles from Miami Beach, probably to save his life.

“Only God. For me, that’s a miracle, ”the 40-year-old Brazilian told Reuters.