Rescuers pause at a memorial wall around the site of the collapsed building after their shift in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the United States, July 7, 2021. The death toll in the partial collapse of a 12-story residential building in Surfside of U.S. state Florida has risen to 54 on Wednesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference. The mayor said 86 people remain unaccounted for, and the 14-day search effort would switch from rescue to recovery at midnight after a ceremony and moment of silence for the victims at 7:15 p.m. (2315 GMT). (Photo by Monica McGivern/Xinhua)
WASHINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the partial collapse of a 12-story residential building in Surfside of U.S. state Florida has risen to 54 on Wednesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference.
The mayor said 86 people remain unaccounted for, and the 14-day search effort would switch from rescue to recovery at midnight after a ceremony and moment of silence for the victims at 7:15 p.m. (2315 GMT).
The search and rescue team concluded there was "no chance of life" in the rubble, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told families at a private briefing earlier on Wednesday.
Emergency teams would remove rescue dogs and sound devices but would continue to search through the rubble for the bodies of victims, Jadallah added.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference on Wednesday morning that it was unclear whether flaws in the structure were unique to the building, its construction or maintenance. Implications of the collapse for new state regulations were also uncertain at the moment.
"I think we need to get those definitive answers," he said.
The collapse occurred around 1:15 a.m. (0515 GMT) on June 24 at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the beachside town that sits around 9.6 km north of Miami Beach.
Since the collapse, multiple Miami-area buildings have been evacuated, local media reported.
