Two weeks after Miami condo collapse, 60 dead and 80 still missing

Two weeks after Miami condo collapse, 60 people have been confirmed dead and 80 are still unaccounted for (Pictures: Getty Images/Reuters)

Two weeks after a condo building near Miami partially collapsed as many residents slept, the death toll has reached 60 and 80 people remain missing.

The bodies of six more victims were pulled form the rubble on Thursday, a day after first responders announced the official end of search and rescue efforts for possible survivors. Authorities transitioned to recovery efforts at midnight.

‘It’s officially two weeks since this unthinkable and unprecedented tragedy shook our community and the world,’ Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during a Thursday morning press conference. ‘And we have now officially transitioned to search and recovery.’

Cava said that 80 people are ‘potentially unaccounted for’. The recovery effort is ‘proceeding just as rapidly with just as many people on the pile’ and officials are ‘taking as much care as ever’ to find victims, she added.

Miami-Dade County officials, members of search and rescue teams and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue along with police and workers gather in front of the collapse site during a prayer ceremony and a moment of silence (Picture: Reuters)

A member of a search and rescue team stands in front of the rubble that once was Champlain Towers South during a prayer ceremony and a moment of silence (Picture: Reuters)

‘We are working around the clock to recover victims and to bring closure to the families as fast as we possibly can,’ Cava said.

The 12-story Champlain Towers South partially crumbled shortly before 1.30am on June 24 in Surfside, Florida. It is one of the deadliest building collapses in US history, excluding terrorist attacks and fires.

While authorities broke the grim news to sobbing families, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said not all hope was lost.

‘We are still praying for a miracle,’ Burkett said. ‘We haven’t given up all hope.’

A nun from the St. Josephs Catholic Church prays at the Surfside Wall of Hope and Memorial (Picture: Getty Images)

A member of the Israeli search and rescue team (left) salutes in front of the rubble that once was Champlain Towers South during a prayer ceremony and a moment of silence (Picture: Reuters)

Mike Stratton, whose wife Cassondra ‘Cassie’ Stratton has not yet been found, shared in the sentiment.

‘This wasn’t the miracle we prayed for, but it was not for lack of trying by rescue crews whose tireless bravery will never be forgotten,’ Stratton said. ‘Cass, we love you and are still hoping against hope.’

First responders halted their work around 1.20am for a moment of silence to mark two weeks since the condo fell.

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