Collapsed Building In Miami Search Efforts Halted Before Demolition The Building Collapsed.

The search for possible survivors in the rubble of a partially collapsed apartment building near Miami was halted before the controlled demolition of the rest of the building. The team is preparing to destroy the rest of the structure with the help of explosives.

Demolition of the South Champlain Tower has been proposed for safety reasons due to the approaching storm. Part of the 12-story building collapsed on June 24. It is known that 24 people died, and 121 people were missing. There were no survivors of the Surfside ruins on the outskirts of Miami in the first few hours after the building collapsed.

The families of the missing should be notified in advance of the decision to end the search, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Cava Levine. The decision to further up demolition of the remaining blocks comes after concerns arose about the approaching Tropical Storm Elsa, which is expected to hit Florida's west coast on Tuesday.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said strong winds could remove additional debris from the unstable structure in the coming days, threatening the lives of search teams. "It is clear that the building is in trouble," he said on Saturday, adding, "We agreed that the isolated solution to this problem is to get rid of it."

Mr. Burkett said the controlled demolition could occur "as early as Sunday" and should be completed within a few days. Media caption How dogs help Surfside's rescue efforts pay. Mayor Kava Levine announced the temporary suspension of searches, saying recent events "do not mean that we are no longer converged on exploration and rescue."

He said preparations for demolition included "pillar drilling in hazardous structures," A pause was needed while the process was ongoing. "We will find and salvage all parts of the stack that can be safely reaccessed as soon as we are free," he said. Drones and 3D imaging equipment were launched to look for signs of life in the debris. The mayor signed the demolition order on Friday. He first said he didn't expect demolition until the end of July.