DEATH TOLL IN FLORIDA BUILDING COLLAPSE RISES TO 4; FILIPINO FAMILY AMONG 159 STILL MISSING

About 160 people were still unaccounted for Friday after an oceanside condominium building collapsed into a smoldering pile of rubble, and searchers using both big machines and their hands to comb through a twisted, shifting heap of concrete and metal feared the death toll of at least four could go much higher.

With scores of firefighters working overnight to reach any possible survivors both from under and atop the remains of the building, hopes rested on how quickly crews using dogs and microphones to sift through the wreckage could complete their grim, yet delicate task, Terry Spencer and Adriana Gomez Licon reported for the Associated Press (AP) on June 26, 2021.

“Every time we hear a sound, we concentrate on those areas,” said Assistant Miami-Dade Fire Chief Raide Jadallah.

Pelted by intermittent rain showers, two heavy cranes began removing debris from the pile using large claws Friday morning, creating a din of crashing glass and metal as they picked up material and dumped it to the side. Once the machines paused, fire crews moved in to remove smaller pieces by hand.

Amid the work, Faydah Bushnaq knelt on the beach near the building’s remains and scratched “Pray for their souls” in the sand.

“We were supposed to be on vacation, but I have no motivation to have fun,” said Bushnaq of Sterling, Virginia. “It is the perfect time to say a prayer for them.”

At least one Filipino family is believed to be among those still unaccounted for in the building collapse. Bettina Obias said that her relatives Claudio and Maria Bonnefoy, who lived on the 10th floor, are still missing.

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