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Updated July 6th, 2021 at 11:43 IST

Israeli official: building demolition aids rescue

Three more victims were discovered in the new pile, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members, raising the death toll to 27 people. Another 118 people remain unaccounted for.

IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Rescuers searched through fresh rubble Monday after the last of the collapsed Florida condo building was demolished, which allowed crews into previously inaccessible places, including bedrooms where people were believed to be sleeping at the time of the disaster, officials said.

Three more victims were discovered in the new pile, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members, raising the death toll to 27 people. Another 118 people remain unaccounted for.

Col. Elad Edri, with the Israeli Defense Forces search and rescue team, said Sunday's demolition was a 'relief' and a crucial step for the search-and-rescue effort because it raised the prospect that crews could increase both the pace of their work and the number of searchers at the site.

"The remaining building collapsed into itself. It didn't incur any damage to the environment, to other buildings. It didn't damage the pile. So we would be able to get on the pile back less than 20 minutes after the demolition," Edri said.

"Actually, we experienced for the last, let's say, 16 hours, an increase of the amount of trapped and missing that we are able to to get to," Edri added. "And we believe that the demolition helped us to get, as I said, to a lot of new areas and also to spread more rescuers on the and a wider field on the pile."

Workers immediately began clearing some of the new debris after the demolition so rescuers could start making their way into parts of the underground garage that is of particular interest. Officials said the search effort resumed around midnight. It had been called off Saturday to allow specialists to drill holes for explosives needed for the demolition. Rescuers brought in more heavy-duty equipment to remove rubble from the 'new' pile to get a clearer picture of voids that may exist under the fallen wing of the Champlain Towers South.

"Before (the demolition) we actually operated two or three maximum and now we operate four bulldozers, including one bulldozer inside the parking lot, which was and it was absolutely unreachable and untouchable because of the conditions of the pile," Edri said. No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the collapse.

Although the chance of finding survivors 12 days after the June 24 collapse has diminished, Col. Edri said the rescue teams are still motivated to press forward from the outpouring of support from the local community. "We get a huge hug from the community, a lot of help, a lot of goodwill, a lot of love," Edri said. "It gives us the motivation because the actions along that operation are very tough. We work around the clock 24/7 in changing weather and look at these people and feel that our actions influence their mood and the way they see that we are willing to do everything to save the trapped."

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Published July 6th, 2021 at 11:42 IST

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