Remains of the Florida condo that collapsed to be demolished

On Friday night, the total death toll from last week’s Florida building collapse rose to 22, with 126 people still unaccounted for. The mayor of Miami-Dade County, the same day, said that she ordered the demolition of the still-standing portion of the building – Champlain Towers South. A total of 188 people have now been accounted for.

This decision was made after it was alerted that the standing structure could fall and halt the rescue efforts, New York Times reported.

“The building poses a threat to public health and safety, and bringing it down as quickly as possible is critical to protect our community,” NYT quoted mayor Daniella Levine Cava as saying.

The search was briefly paused for about 14 hours on Thursday amid fears that the building could collapse. The search for the missing persons has also been hampered by rough weather and dangerous conditions.

As the weekend approached, authorities in Miami also made contingency plans for Hurricane Elsa, which strengthened from a tropical storm.

The mayor said that while each night had been difficult for rescuers since part of the Champlain Towers South complex collapsed in the early hours of June 24, it had been “uniquely different and more difficult” when the young victim was found.

Also on Friday, a condo building in North Miami Beach was ordered to be closed and evacuated after an inspection found unsafe structural and electrical conditions, local media reported.

The city said the move was out of an “abundance of caution,” as area authorities check high-rise condo buildings following the Surfside collapse.

US President Joe Biden visited Florida on Thursday to meet with survivors, relatives of those missing and first responders.