The staff immediately began to clean up some new debris so that rescuers could begin to enter the particularly interesting part of the underground garage. After arriving there, they wanted to have a clearer understanding of the possible gaps in the rubble, as they were searching for 121 people who are believed to be trapped under the collapsed wing of Surfside Champlain Tanan, which collapsed on June 24.

No one has been rescued alive since the first hour after the collapse. On Sunday, Miami-Dade police confirmed that 58-year-old David Epstein was one of 24 people known to have died in the collapsed tower. His body was found on Friday.

During the demolition process, a huge explosion echoed from the building. Then the building began to collapse, layer after layer, and a series of dust exploded. When the crowd watched this scene from a distance, the feathers churned in the air.

“This is the perfect picture. It is exactly what we were told to happen,” Levin Kava said in an interview shortly after the demolition.

Resident refused to return to the apartment for the last time

Soon after, the crane started to operate at the site again.Levine Cava said in an interview with NBC Nowadays The staff came back before midnight to search for rubble.

Some residents had requested to return to their homes for the last time before the demolition to retrieve the items left in a hurry, but they were refused. Others were puzzled by the pets left, although officials said they found no signs of animals after three final scans, including the use of drones to spy on abandoned structures.

Levin Kava said that since the search and rescue efforts began, officials have been explaining their decision to survivors.

“We understand the fact that families realize that time has passed, they realize that opportunities are becoming increasingly slim,” she said Nowadays“They are with us, they know what we are doing every step of the way.”

The mayor also stated that the team is working hard to preserve any personal belongings they can. “We have always asked them to continue cataloging all their precious items so that once they are found, we can match them.”

Storm on the road

The upcoming tropical storm Elsa has increased the urgency of the demolition plan, and forecasts indicate that the system may bring strong winds. Due to the storm, US President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida, making federal aid possible.

The latest forecast has moved the storm westward, mainly because South Florida has not been affected, but Robert Moleda, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, said the area may still be affected.

“We expect gusts to be mainly tropical storm strength,” Molleda said, referring to gusts higher than 64 km/h.

The decision to demolish the remnants of the Surfside building was made after people were concerned that the damaged structure might collapse, which would endanger the staff below and prevent them from working in certain areas. On Thursday, part of the location of the remaining buildings changed, resulting in a 15-hour suspension of construction.

The authorities have notified nearby residents of the demolition time from house to house and asked them to close the windows. They were told to stay indoors within two hours of the explosion to avoid the dust raised by the implosion.

‘Energetic logging’

The demolition method on Sunday night is called “high energy logging”, which uses a small detonating device and relies on gravity. The goal is to demolish the building in place and control the scope of the collapse within the surrounding environment.

Officials used tarps to visually mark the search area to prevent accidental scattering of new debris.

State officials said they hired BG Group, a general contractor in Delray Beach, Florida, to lead the demolition work. They did not immediately respond to inquiries about how to choose the company, but the contract for the project requires the state to pay the company US$935,000.

A spokesperson for the state’s emergency management department said that the company has signed a subcontract with Maryland-based Controlled Demolition Inc. Experts say the company is one of the few companies in the United States that uses explosives to demolish buildings. According to the work contract, the company expects to place explosives in the basement and hall levels of the structure that is still standing.

American Demolition Association board member Steve Schwartz said that CDI “may be one of the best in the industry.” He described the company’s president and owner Mark Leuzer as “calm, calm and composed.”

Scott Homrich, the head of the National Demolition Association and who runs his own demolition company in Detroit, said that in an implosion-the use of explosives to cause the building to collapse on its own-usually within a few seconds Detonated in rapid succession. Set up explosives every once in a while to blow up the building at the same time it collapses.