The search operation at the Surfside condominium collapse site is shifting from rescue to recovery as hopes of finding survivors faded, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Wednesday.
The latest: The death toll from the June 24 Champlain Towers South collapse has climbed to 54, with 86 people still missing. The decision to move to recovery comes after rescue teams searched through new areas of rubble made accessible following the demolition of the remaining part of the building.
What they're saying: "At this point, we have truly exhausted every option available to us in the search and rescue mission. So today is about beginning the transition to recovery so that we can help to bring closure to the families who have been suffering and waiting for news," Levine Cava said.
- "Nothing we can do can bring back those we've lost, but we can and we will do everything in our power possible to identify all of the victims and to offer closure to the families in this time of unimaginable grief," she added.
The big picture: The transition to recovery efforts will begin at midnight, Levine Calla said. ...
- The decision allows responders to use different techniques to sort through the wreckage, according to former Miami-Dade fire chief Dave Downey, who previously told the Washington Post that he had to make similar calls in Florida and twice while in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
- Families were told earlier Wednesday in a private briefing that emergency crews would continue to search for victims' bodies, but rescue dogs and sound devices would be removed from the site, per AP.
- Rescue crews have