Search continues after Surfside collapse site demolition

Rescuers search for victims at a collapsed South Florida condo building Monday, July 5, in Surfside, after demolition crews set off a string of explosives that brought down the last of the Champlain Towers South building in a plume of dust on Sunday.

It has been more than a week since part of the Champlain Towers South condo building fell early in the morning on June 24, collapsing 55 of the building’s 136 units.

Search and rescue efforts have continued for days, but at least 118 people remain unaccounted for. Here’s what we know about the building, the collapse and the race to find the missing:

CNN’s Madeline Holcombe contributed reporting to this post.

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued in Florida, and it includes Surfside.

This warning is in effect until 4 p.m. ET as an outer band from Elsa pushes through the region. Winds up to 60 mph, penny-sized hail and isolated tornadoes are possible as this line of storms moves in. Torrential rainfall is also occurring within these storms and may lead to flash flooding.

Search and rescue efforts are continuing in Surfside following the building collapse 12 days ago. At least 27 people are dead and 118 people are still unaccounted for.

The Miami-Dade Police Department has identified two more victims of the Champlain Towers South condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida.

According to MDPD, Ingrid Ainsworth, 66, and Tzvi Ainsworth, 68, were recovered from the rubble Monday.

The number of deceased now stands at 27.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Tropical Storm Elsa, moving toward Florida, “initiated a conversation about the necessity to bring that building down because the worst thing that could have happened was to have a storm come in and blow that building down on top of the pile.”

Remember: Surfside is no longer in Elsa’s forecast cone, but the area could still receive some rain from the storm. Showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds are possible starting tonight, officials said.

The portion of the building that was still standing was demolished Sunday night around 10:30 p.m. ET.

Speaking to CNN’s Boris Sanchez, Burkett said family members were told that work “resumed 20 mins after the demolition,” adding that the announcement was followed by applause. Later on Monday, Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County mayor, told reporters that work commenced on the pile around midnight and search and rescue efforts fully resumed around 1 a.m. ET Monday morning. 

Burkett called the building that still stood “a looming danger” and said it “prevented a lot of work from being done.” Now that the building is gone, “we’re now at 100% full strength, full-on pulling everybody out of that rubble pile,” he said. 

The mayor toured the site this morning and said work continues. “It is encouraging to see how aggressively they are attacking the pile,“ he said.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks during a press briefing on July 5.

The mayor of Miami-Dade County said the investigation into Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, is “complicated” and will take a while. 

Levine Cava expects the investigation to “continue over a long period of time.”

The mayor said the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has “been active on the site.”

Cava said NIST photographed the remaining structure before it was taken down Sunday night. She said NIST is exploring “every part of the building that they had access to” and continues interviewing people.

The Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, Alfredo Ramirez, said his teams are still largely focused on the recovery of family members and the preservation of evidence.

When asked about a possible design flaw in the building, Ramirez said it was too early to discuss.

“We’re too early in this process to really start discussing those things right now,” Ramirez said. “But this will be a long process, as has been stated, and it’ll be very thorough.”

Surfside, Florida — where enormous search and rescue effort are underway in the wake of a building collapse — may experience showers, thunderstorms, and gusty winds as Tropical Storm Elsa moves north, National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Molleda said.

Surfside is no longer in Elsa’s forecast cone, but the area could still receive some rain from the storm.

Charles Cyrille, division director Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management, said residents should avoid unnecessary travel “as strong winds and heavy rains may make driving hazardous.” 

Cyrille said later on Monday, his division will begin “implementing plans to redeploy assets at the collapse site.” 

As search and rescue efforts continue following Sunday night’s demolition of the remaining portion of Champlain Towers South, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County said Monday that a pile of debris closest to the building was actually holding the structure up.

The mayor said possible impacts from Tropical Storm Elsa and the instability of the remaining structure were the impetus for taking the building down.

Levine Cava said search and rescue personnel are looking for voids and possible survivors.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press briefing in Surfside, Florida, on July 5.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said today that the demolition of the remaining part of the collapsed building in Surfside was a “good effort” and the “right thing to do” to help everyone move forward.

He said that while one of the concerns was the approaching storm, the other was the location of the remaining structure in relation to the site and the accessibility by the search and rescue teams. DeSantis said they did not want to have any problems with the building “impeding the searches.” 

While Miami-Dade officials made the final call on the demolition plans, he said the state was fully supportive of them. DeSantis added that the structure came down almost exactly as planned. 

He said that teams are making “a lot of progress” with the search efforts in that area.

The governor said that there is good news with Tropical Storm Elsa in relation to Surfside since it seems to be moving a little further west of the area: Surfside is no longer in Elsa’s forecast cone, but the area could still receive some rain from the storm.

DeSantis said he’s likely to sign an updated executive order later today that will likely remove Miami-Dade County from the list of affected counties.  

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced three additional victims were discovered in the rubble.

The death toll now stands at 27 with 191 people accounted for and 118 others still unaccounted for.

“Please join me in praying for those who lost their lives and the families who mourn and for all of those who are still waiting,” the mayor said.

Levine Cava noted that the demolition of the remainder of the condo has allowed rescue workers to work on a part of the pile that was not accessible before.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said officials continue to monitor the tropical storm headed toward Florida as rescue efforts continue following the Surfside condo collapse.

Surfside is no longer in Tropical Storm Elsa’s forecast cone, but the area could still receive some rain from the storm.

The rest of the Champlain Towers South building was demolished Sunday night as Tropical Storm Elsa continued to travel toward Florida. Officials and rescue crews were increasingly concerned about the safety of those searching the rubble and the potential the rest of the structure would collapse.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said last night’s demolition of the remaining portion of Champlain Towers South was “executed exactly as planned.” 

“The demolition began at 10:30 P.M. And the building fell as was planned towards Collins Avenue. Only dust landed on the existing pile,” the mayor said.

She said that officials were able to commence work on the pile around midnight and by 1:00 a.m. ET, they “were in full search and rescue operation mode” again.

The mayor said that “bringing the building down in a controlled manner was critical to expanding our scope of search.” She said that the area closest to the building was the area that we had not been able to access. 

“And as we speak, the teams are working on that part of the pile that was not accessible before the building was demolished,” she said.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Officials are providing an update to reporters after the rest of the Champlain Towers South building was demolished Sunday night.

Search efforts halted during the demolition but resumed at the site this morning. 

Ahead of the demolition at the South tower, the condominium board for Champlain Towers East suggested residents evacuate, according to a letter from the condo association’s board of directors obtained by CNN.

The letter encouraged residents to evacuate in advance as streets nearby would be congested due to the demolition. The board also asked residents to take their pets and valuables, including passports and important documents, with them.

The letter encouraged residents to evacuate in advance as streets nearby would be congested due to the demolition. The board also asked residents to take their pets and valuables, including passports and important documents, with them.

On Saturday, the city of Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of a residential building out of an abundance of caution after a city inspector looked at an empty unit and flagged a “flooring system failure in that unit and excessive deflection on an exterior wall,” according to city spokesperson Melissa Berthier.

The day before, North Miami Beach officials ordered the evacuation of the Crestview Towers, saying the building was delinquent with its 40-year recertification. Officials cited the late certification report to say the building was structurally and electrically unsafe.

Many residents of Champlain Towers South whose condos didn’t collapse had to evacuate without many of their belongings, leaving behind clothes, valuables and family photographs.

On Sunday, Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez III said homicide detectives had been “collecting items that are retrievable, and are logging them and documenting them.”

Any type of heirloom that was safe to retrieve is being documented to “be addressed at a later date with family members,” he said.

Miami-Dade Police plan to hold a news conference later this morning on the building collapse in Surfside.

Earlier today, search and rescue operations resumed after the rest of the building was demolished last night. Officials said they hoped it would now be safer to expand their efforts.

At least 24 people are dead and 121 people are still unaccounted for.

The rest of the Champlain Towers South building was demolished Sunday night as the threat of Tropical Storm Elsa loomed. Officials and rescue crews were increasingly concerned about the safety of those searching the rubble and the potential the rest of the structure would collapse.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 15 counties Saturday — including Miami-Dade County — because of Tropical Storm Elsa.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the Florida Keys and a tropical storm watch is in effect for parts of southwest Florida as far north as Tampa Bay.

Surfside is no longer in Elsa’s forecast cone, but the area could still receive some rain from the storm.

The governor expressed his support for the demolition plan ahead of Elsa’s impact and said Saturday he believed it would be best for the building to be down before the storm arrives. “With these gusts potentially, it would create a really big hazard.”

Golan Vach, Commander of the Israel Rescuers delegation arrives in the area near the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in the city of Surfside, Florida, on June 27.

More than a week after a residential building partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, the chances of finding people alive under the rubble are “close to zero,” said Col. Golan Vach, commander of the Israeli National Rescue Unit that is helping the search and rescue efforts.

“I’m realistic, but we are still full of hope. This hope keeps us very active, and we scale up each day,” he said Monday. “We wake up in the morning … with a lot of energy to find the loved ones, alive or not alive.”

As the search and rescue efforts were paused during the demolition process, Vach said his team used the time to update the last location of people that were found and those questioned.

“Right now, we have precise and accurate plan to continue in these searching efforts,” he told CNN.

So far, Vach said the crews have found “what makes life.”

“We saw all what makes life. We saw furnitures … we saw toys. And we are looking for the people, of course,” he said.

Amid the investigation into what caused the collapse, the nearby city of Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of a three-story residential building Saturday evening out of an abundance of caution, according to city spokesperson Melissa Berthier.

The building is on Lenox Avenue and has 24 units, per Berthier. According to the city, 11 of the units are unoccupied and one person required housing assistance.

This is at least the second building ordered to be evacuated in Miami-Dade County since Champlain Towers South collapsed. Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach was evacuated Friday.

Berthier said Miami Beach fire teams responded to a service call Saturday about a vacant unit. When the city inspector arrived on the scene, he flagged a “flooring system failure in that unit and excessive deflection on an exterior wall.”

The evaluation of the structural integrity of the building is ongoing, per Berthier.

Separately, the city of Surfside has asked the owners of buildings more than 30 years old and more than three stories tall to assess their properties for recertification in advance of their traditional 40-year deadline.

A pile of debris remains the morning after the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo was taken down with a controlled demolition on July 5 in Surfside, Florida. 

Search and rescue efforts have resumed at the Champlain Towers South collapse site in Surfside, Florida, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. 

The department confirmed search and rescue personnel are back on the pile of rubble searching. The exact time for when operations resumed was not provided by the fire department. 

Search and rescue was halted last night as the planned demolition of the remaining structure took place. Officials said once the area had been deemed secure following the demolition, search and rescue teams would resume their efforts on the debris pile. 

The rest of the Champlain South tower is seen being demolished in Surfside, Florida, north of Miami Beach, late on July 4. 

The rest of the Champlain Towers South building was demolished Sunday night, and officials hope it will now be safer for rescue teams to expand their search with fewer reinforcements.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he hopes the demolition will eliminate a potentially dangerous threat to workers and possibly open an estimated third of the remaining pile to search and rescue teams.

With the threat of Tropical Storm Elsa looming, officials and rescue crews were increasingly concerned about the safety of those searching the rubble and the potential the rest of the structure would collapse.

Background: The demolition came after part of the building fell early in the morning on June 24, collapsing approximately 55 of the building’s 136 units. Crews immediately began digging through up to 16 feet of concrete and have confirmed at least 24 people were killed, including children. There are 121 people who remain unaccounted for.

The structure was demolished around 10:30 p.m. ET Sunday using a method Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called “energetic felling,” describing it as a process that “uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place.”

Search efforts at the partially collapsed building were paused Saturday around 4 p.m. so engineers could secure the site and prepare for the demolition.

“As soon as the building is down and once the site is deemed secure, we will have our first responders back on the pile to immediately resume their work,” Levine Cava said Sunday night.

A woman is seen in front of the Surfside Wall Of Hope & Memorial on July 4, in Surfside, Florida. 

Rescue workers continue to dig through rubble and debris looking after the partial collapse of a building in the town of Surfside, just north of Miami, Florida. 

As families wait in agony for updates on missing loved ones, there are ways you can ensure they don’t face this situation alone. Organizations are on the ground to help.

Here is how you can support them — even from miles away. To donate to organizations featured click here.

Donate money or personal care items

Provide meals

Assist with transportation

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