Florida building collapse: death toll rises to 36 as Tropical Storm Elsa complicates search
- Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing
- Levine Cava said authorities have been able to confirm that 70 of that number were in the 12-storey building when it came tumbling down
Rescuers on Tuesday combed through the debris of a deadly condo tower collapse in Florida as Tropical Storm Elsa threatened to complicate the delicate search mission with strong winds and heavy rain.
The death toll from the June 24 disaster in Surfside, a town north of Miami Beach, rose to 36 as search teams found eight more bodies in the rubble, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
Twenty-six victims have been identified.
Levine Cava said 109 people were still listed as missing and the authorities have been able to confirm that 70 of that number were in the 12-storey building when it came tumbling down.
She said Tropical Storm Elsa was making the already “challenging and adverse conditions” faced by the search teams even more difficult.