Two other bodies were pulled from the rubble of a 12-story apartment building near Miami, which partially collapsed last month.

Local officials said that a 12-story building in southern Florida partially collapsed in the middle of the night last month, and its wreckage will be demolished as early as Sunday because the upcoming storm may cause the building to capsize.

On Saturday, two more bodies were pulled out of the rubble of Champlain Tower South in Surfside, near Miami, bringing the official The death toll increased to 24. After the tower collapsed, there were still 124 people unaccounted for, and search and rescue operations continued.

Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky told reporters that the remaining towers must be demolished as soon as possible because Tropical Storm Elsa It is expected to arrive in southern Florida as early as Monday.

“We can’t control where it landed,” he said.

Elsa was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm while skimming the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Saturday, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 110 km/h (70 mph).

The long-term forecast trajectory shows that by Tuesday morning, it will head towards Florida in the form of a tropical storm, but some models will bring it into the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic coast. Meteorological officials warned that this may bring heavy rain and gusts to the Miami area.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated that the Surfside building was “toddling” and “unsound in structure” and that it was a wise move to demolish it.

“If the building is demolished, it will protect our search and rescue team because we don’t know when it will collapse,” DeSantis said at a press conference. “And, of course, with these gusts, it may cause very serious danger.”

The Mayor of Miami-Dade County Daniela Levin Kava signed an order for the building to be demolished immediately, possibly as soon as Sunday, officials said.

“We eagerly hope to complete this work before the storm,” Levine Cava said. “Yes, we are worried that the intensity of tropical storm wind will affect the stability of the building.”

Fire officials said the building will be demolished in a controlled manner using explosives, rather than wrecking balls or other methods. Officials said the contractor was inspecting the site on Saturday to make a plan.

It’s not clear what caused the building to collapse last month, but Investigators found evidence The water damage and structural corrosion were so severe that the building’s owners association estimated that it would take 15 million US dollars to repair.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal this week, the chairman of the Champlain Tannan Apartment Association told residents in April that their buildings urgently need to be repaired.

The 2018 report released after the building collapsed also showed that an engineer Found evidence of major structural damage “Concrete degradation” under the pool deck and in the apartment’s underground parking lot.

Engineer Frank Morabito warned that the waterproof material installed under the pool deck had failed due to a major error in the design.