Fourteen bodies were recovered from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South overnight, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities from the June 24th building collapse to 78, according to NBC News. Sixty two people remain unaccounted for.
In a midday Friday briefing, Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that recovery efforts are continuing, but the toll is weighing heaving on rescue workers, families and the community. “This is a staggering and heartbreaking number that affects all of us very deeply,” she said.
Of the 78 sets of remains, 47 of them have been identified and returned to families. More than 200 residents and guests in the building have been accounted for over the past two weeks, but more than 60 have not been located.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said more than 13 tons of debris had been removed from the site already, and that the rubble pile, which was about five stories high after the 12-story building collapsed, was nearly at ground level.
Levine Cava said that an investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, but no definitive reason has yet to be identified.