Tropical storm won’t halt search efforts at Florida building collapse

By AP 6 July 2021, 3:47 pm

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Rescue workers continue working on a pile of debris after the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo was taken down with a controlled demolition on July 5, 2021 in Surfside, Florida (Saul MARTINEZ / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

A ramped-up rescue effort at the collapsed condo building faces new threats from the weather as Tropical Storm Elsa begins lashing Florida.

The search crews can work through rain, but lightning from unrelated thunderstorms have forced them to pause at times, and a garage area in the rubble has filled with water, officials say.

The death toll in the collapse at the building in Surfside, Florida, outside Miami, stands at 28 people, after four more bodies were discovered yesterday; another 117 people remained unaccounted for.