Death toll in Surfside condo building collapse in Florida rises to 28

The number of confirmed deaths due to the collapse of an oceanfront condo building in Surfside, Florida has now increased to 28, informed Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Monday (local time).

"Search and rescue crews have recovered another victim from the rubble of the collapsed Champlain Towers South building, bringing the death toll to 28," CNN reported citing Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava as saying in a news conference.

That means 117 people are still unaccounted for, said Cava.

Earlier, three additional bodies were found in the rubble of the collapsed Champlain Towers South building, officials said.

The additional bodies were found after search efforts resumed around midnight following the demolition Sunday night of what had remained standing of the building, said Cava.

The structure was demolished around 10:30 pm Sunday (local time) using a method Levine Cava called "energetic felling," describing it as a process that "uses small, strategically placed explosives and relies on gravity to bring the building down in place," CNN reported.

A large oceanfront condo building near Miami Beach partially collapsed last week, prompting a massive search-and-rescue response as many people were reported missing.

The cause of the collapse is still unknown. However, new details are emerging about the integrity of the structure noted in an engineering report in 2018.

Experts who have reviewed available data about collapse say probe into its cause should focus on potential failures near the base of the building.

( With inputs from ANI )

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