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Two weeks following a seaside condominium tower collapsed just north of Miami,Florida rescuers have said that there are no survivors in the tragic incident.
The rescuers said on Thursday their mission was no longer one of rescue, but had shifted to recovery. There were no survivors, Reuters reported.
“My sister and my brother-in-law were – are – in that building right now,” said Martin Langesfeld, speaking at an impromptu memorial late Wednesday night a few hundred yards from the rubble, as the reality of vanquished hope set in.
There were no miracle survivors pulled from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South, which collapsed on June 24, burying more than people.
Authorities have so far recovered 54 bodies, and another 86 people remain missing and feared dead.
US authorities have failed to provide a proper explanation for the building’s collapse, though investigations are focusing on a 2018 engineering report that warned of structural deficiencies.
The 2018 engineering report showed the building had “major structural damage” to a concrete slab below its pool deck that needed extensive repairs, part of a series of documents released by the city of Surfside.
The report from the firm of Morabito Consultants did not warn of imminent danger from the damage, and it is unclear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse. But the report noted the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix systemic issues with the building.
It said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off.
The firm recommended that the damaged slabs be replaced in what would be a major repair.
The report also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.
The building fell so forcefully that rescuers could find no “voids” or pockets where people might survive for days as has happened in some other cases around the world.
