Four new bodies were found overnight in the smashed rubble of an apartment tower that collapsed about a week ago, bringing the confirmed death toll to nearly 16, Daniela Levin Cava, Governor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, said on Wednesday.
No one has been recovered alive from the piles of crushed concrete since the early hours of the disaster, and 147 people are still missing, according to what was reported by “Reuters”.
However, local officials say they still hope to find survivors.
Investigators have not found the cause of the collapse of the 12-storey apartment complex, which includes 136 housing units.
The 40-year-old building collapsed in the early hours of last Thursday while its residents were asleep.
But a 2018 engineering report prepared before the safety re-certification process found structural shortcomings in the collapsed building, which are now the focus of inquiries.
In April, the head of the Condominium Association warned residents in a letter that the severe concrete damage the report identified to the building’s base had since increased and been “much worse”.
Earlier today, Wednesday, Daniela announced the discovery of another body, raising the death toll to 12, before returning and announcing the discovery of 4 additional bodies, raising the death toll to 16.