Four people are now known to have died in the collapse of an oceanfront building near Miami Beach, officials said on Friday, while the number of those unaccounted for has risen to 159 — fuelling fears of a much higher death toll.
An unknown number of residents are feared to have been asleep in the 12-storey condominium in the town of Surfside, when one of its wings was reduced early on Thursday to a pile of debris.
“We do have 120 people now accounted for, which is very, very good news. But our unaccounted for number has gone up to 159,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference. “In addition, we can tragically report the death count is now four,” she said.
Rescue teams with sniffer dogs again worked through the night despite heavy rain — clinging to the diminishing chance of finding additional survivors.
President Joe Biden declared an emergency early on Friday in response to the disaster, ordering federal assistance for the relief effort.
