Florida building collapse: Death toll climbs to 5; 156 remain unaccounted

The death toll in the Florida high-rise apartment building collapse has climbed by one to five, the Miami-Dade county mayor said Saturday evening.

“Today our search and rescue teams found another body in the rubble and as well, our search has revealed some human remains,” AFP quoted mayor Daniella Levine Cava as saying.

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With the identification of three previously recovered bodies, “it means that the unaccounted has now gone down to 156, confirmed deaths are now at a total of five,” she added.

Rescue teams, which were assisted by sniffer dogs, on early Saturday had put the remains of people who were being pulled out from the rubble into yellow bags. These were then sent off to homicide detectives for further investigations and to confirm the victim’s identities, reported AFP.

US President Joe Biden, who has offered federal assistance to Florida’s “state and local officials” tweeted in acknowledgement of the loss of life and grief amongst the community at Surfside. 

He wrote, “My heart is with the community of Surfside as they grieve their lost loved ones and wait anxiously as search and rescue efforts continue.”