The rescue effort after the tragic Miami condo collapse has shifted to a recovery operation.
The discovery of eight more bodies, which brought the death toll to 54, was announced by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava at a briefing on Wednesday, July 7, per The Sun.
Now, following two weeks of searching after the June 24 collapse, rescuers are no longer attempting to find anyone alive.
Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah had informed families privately that the use of rescue dogs and sound devices would stop as they focus their efforts on finding the remains of their loved ones.
Chief Jadallah said: "Our sole responsibility at this point is to bring closure."
President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are pictured below visiting a memorial for victims of the disaster.
Rescuers had previously hoped that there would be "voids" or open pockets in the wreckage that could have helped people to survive.
While these voids were found by rescuers, they predominately existed in the building's car park and basement, and no one was found alive in them.
Officials said during the first two weeks after the collapse that their priority was finding survivors, but no one has been pulled alive from the wreckage since the first few hours after its collapse on June 24.
The remaining part of the condo, which was later demolished, forced rescuers to abandon their search twice because of its structural instability.
The hopes of finding people alive decreased with every passing day.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic Maggie Castro, who has been providing daily updates for families at private briefings, said: "For some, what they're telling us it's almost a sense of relief when they already know [that someone has died] and they can just start to put an end to that chapter and start to move on."
An investigation is being launched into what caused the condo collapse, with one man claiming that his mom heard "creaking noises" coming from the building days before the disaster.
Six lawsuits have now been filed on behalf of the families who lived in Champlain Towers, per The Sun.
If you would like to help provide relief to the families of the victims and survivors, a GoFundMe has now been set up.
