Apartment building demolished before Hurricane Elsa hit

Rescuers made way for the demolition team at the scene of a collapsed apartment building in South Florida, as officials turned their attention to demolishing the unstable rest of the building before the tropical storm.

The search and rescue mission was suspended on Saturday afternoon so workers can start drilling holes in the concrete of the still standing part of the South Tower of Surfside Champlain to contain the unstable business of explosives, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Red Jadala Tell relatives to wait for news about missing relatives.

Although the demolition is risky, officials said that as Hurricane Elsa is imminent in the Caribbean and is expected to hit the state on Tuesday morning, it cannot be avoided.

The storm intensified fears that the remaining structure might collapse, endangering the staff below and complicating the search.

The confirmed death toll from the collapse on June 24 is 24, but 121 people are still missing. The Miami-Dade Police Department added Graciela Catarosi, 48, and Gonzalo Torre, 81, to the list of confirmed deaths on Saturday night.

“One of our buildings in Surfside is crumbling. It is structurally unsound, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday. Although the eye of the storm is unlikely to pass in this direction, you can travel in this area. Feel the gust of wind,” he added.