Miami building collapse: Firefighter's 7-year-old daughter found dead
- Published
A seven-year-old firefighter's daughter is among two more victims to have been pulled from the rubble of the collapsed apartment block near Miami, officials say.
It takes the death toll to 20, with 128 people still missing.
Nine days after the collapse, rescue teams are scouring the wreckage for survivors, despite the risk of falling debris and an incoming hurricane.
The girl is the third child to be recovered from the site in Surfside.
The discovery was especially difficult for rescuers, Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said.
"Every victim we remove is very difficult," he said. "Last night was even more, when we were removing a fellow firefighter's daughter. As firefighters, we do what we do - it's kind of a calling. But it still takes a toll."
The second body has not yet been publicly identified.
The bodies of sisters Lucia Guara, 4, and Emma Guara, 10, were found Wednesday.
No one has been pulled alive from the debris since the first hours after the 12-floor Champlain Towers South apartment block partially caved in on itself in the early hours of last Thursday as residents slept.
Rescue workers restarted their effort last night after it had been briefly paused due to fears shifting debris could topple on them.
They are keen to make progress before the arrival of Storm Elsa, a 75-mph (120kmh) hurricane that could potentially hit Florida early next week.
Families of the missing asked officials if they could confirm reports of voices heard in the rubble.
But fire chief Raide Jadallah said rescue teams had not heard any voices since the morning after the collapse.
After meeting with families in Surfside yesterday, US President Joe Biden said he still hoped survivors could be found in the rubble.
What caused the 40-year-old housing complex to crumble to the ground remains unclear.
But a 2018 inspection warned of "major" design flaws in the original design of the block.
The building association's board says it will appoint an "independent receiver... to oversee the legal and claims process."