State Watch

Four more bodies found in Surfside condo collapse

Florida officials on Tuesday said four more bodies had been recovered from the site of the Surfside, Fla., condominium collapse, bringing the death toll up to 32 people.

“Through the team’s ongoing efforts we have recovered four additional victims. The number of confirmed deaths is now 32, with 26 of those identified,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) said during a press briefing.

According to Cava, 191 people are accounted for and 113 people are still unaccounted for.

The death toll was rose to 28 people Monday after search and rescue efforts resumed.

The remainder of the Champlain Towers South condominium building was demolished over the weekend due to concerns about the building’s structural integrity and incoming Tropical Storm Elsa. 

Rescue efforts had been paused over the weekend following the demolition.

Florida Task Force 2 Captain Ignatius Carroll told local media that the demolition of the building had made it easier to look for more bodies.

“It made it difficult for rescuers to get in there and be able to remove some of the heavy equipment,” he said. “So now that that’s been removed, we’re now able to focus on that area.”

“I feel relief because this building was unstable. The building was hampering our search efforts,” Cava added.