Death toll from collapsed Florida condo tower rises to 64

SURFSIDE: The confirmed death toll in the collapse of a Miami-area condominium tower rose to 64 on Thursday after crews recovered the remains of 10 more people from the concrete and steel ruins of the building.

A total of 76 people remain missing and feared dead in the mountain of rubble, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference, one day after local officials said no hope remained of finding survivors.

The number of missing could change as it remains possible that not all were in the building when it abruptly caved in and crumbled to the ground early on June 24.

Although local officials said that as of midnight EDT (0400 GMT) on Thursday the search and rescue part of the operation was considered over, the digging would continue until they had accounted for everyone believed to have been inside that morning.

“It was moving today to hear from a representative of the Miami Dade Fire Department, who said that they will not stop until they’ve gotten to the bottom of the pile and recovered every victim,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told an afternoon news conference.

“Yesterday was tough,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said earlier in the day, referring to the shift to recovery mode. “But the work is going to go on and they are going to identify every single person.”

The pace at which crews were finding the dead has accelerated since teams demolished a still-standing section of the building over the weekend, allowing greater access inside the ruins and more use of heavy equipment.