The search operations for any survivours in the Florida condo collapsed will be briefly halted ahead of the demolition of the remaining condo, authorities said. Miami-Dade County Mayor Cava Levine said that the brief halt in no way means that the search and rescue effort will be ended.

“We will begin the search and rescue once again on any sections of the pile that are safe to access as soon as we’re cleared,” BBC quoted her as saying.

As per the reports, drones and 3D imaging equipment are being used to locate any survivours.

This announcement comes after the mayor signed a demolition order on Friday. Meanwhile, officials are investigating other towers in the block for any structural damage.

While the cause of the collapse is still yet to be ascertained, a 2018 report had flagged that the condo has ‘major structural damage’ in the original design.

As per the report, teams are set to start bringing down the structure in a controlled manner.

The demolition of the tower was decided due to Hurricane Elsa, which is fast approaching. The mayor of Surfside, Charles Burkett, said strong winds in the coming days could bring down additional debris from the unstable structure, endangering the lives of the search teams.

“It was obvious that the building was a problem. We agreed that the only solution for that problem was to eliminate it,” he said, adding that the demolition would be complete within days.

On Sunday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Ray Jadallah said that the demolition would happen sometime late Sunday night.

He also said that small holes were being drilled into the foundation of the building before explosive charges will be placed.

In the Florida building collapse, 24 people were found dead with 121 more people still missing.