Three more bodies found in rubble of Florida building collapse

Three more bodies have been pulled from the rubble of the Florida condo building that collapsed late last month, increasing the confirmed death toll to 27, officials said at a briefing Monday.

Another 118 people are still unaccounted for, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters.

“Please join me in praying for those that lost their lives, the families who mourn, and those who are still waiting,” Cava said.

She said the Sunday night demolition of the remaining portion of the building in Surfside went as planned, adding that “only dust landed on the existing pile,” which allowed rescue workers to almost immediately return to the rubble.

Cava said the demolition took place around 10:30 p.m. and that rescue efforts resumed by midnight, with crews “in full search and rescue operation mode” by 1 a.m.

The controlled demolition was required because the remaining portion of the doomed building was structurally unsound and threatened to endanger rescue efforts, according to officials overseeing the work.

Cava said officials were also worried that Tropical Storm Elsa, which is due to hit parts of Florida this week, could topple the structure outside of Miami Beach.

Relatives of the missing are housed at a nearby hotel while the digging continues — as hopes of finding any survivors only grows less likely.

“I believe right now that the chances are close to zero, unfortunately,” Col. Golan Vach, who is leading an Israeli rescue team at the site, said Sunday when asked about finding survivors.