Surfside Building Collapse: Death toll rises to 11 as rescue operation enters fifth day

The number of confirmed deaths due to the collapse of a building in Surfside, Florida near Miami has now reached 11, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Monday.

"Over the past few hours, our first responders did recover another victim. So, in total, the number of people accounted for now stands at 136, with 150 unaccounted for. The number of confirmed deaths is 11," Cava announced during a press conference.

Meanwhile, Florida State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said rescue workers are working day and night to find survivors. Over 400 rescue workers are assigned to the search, with about 200 scouring the wreckage at any given time, CNN reported.

This comes as the cause of the collapse is still unknown. However, new details are emerging about the integrity of the structure noted in an engineering report in 2018.

Experts who have reviewed available data about condo collapse say probe into its cause should focus on potential failures near the base of the building.

A large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed last Thursday, prompting a massive search-and-rescue response as many people were reported missing.

A 2020 study conducted by Shimon Wdowinski, a professor in the department of earth and environment at Florida International University, found that the building had been sinking since the 1990s, according to US media.

(ANI)

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