7-year-old victim found in Florida condo collapse
The death toll from last week's condominium collapse in Florida rose on Friday to 20 after search-and-rescue crews found two more bodies.
Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava announced the grim development.
“Last night we did discover two additional victims. Tragically, one of those victims was the seven-year-old daughter of a City of Miami firefighter.
The painstaking search for victims in the rubble was suspended for most of Thursday over safety concerns.
It resumed Friday with greater caution and a watchful eye on a hurricane that could strike Florida within days.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state was tracking the storm closely.
“We don't know exactly the track it is going to take. It is possible that we could see tropical force winds as early as Sunday night. So we’re actively monitoring the situation.”
There are 128 people still missing and feared buried beneath tons of pulverized concrete, twisted metal and splintered lumber as the search stretched into its ninth day.
The young girl found was the third child to be recovered from the collapse site in the oceanfront town of Surfside, next to Miami Beach.
No one has been pulled alive from the debris since the initial hours after the 12-floor Champlain Towers South condo partially caved in on itself early on June 24 as residents slept.
Investigators have not determined what caused the 40-year-old condo complex to crumble into a heap in one of the deadliest building collapses in U.S. history.
