U.S.

Rescue Crews Recover 5th Body At Condo Site Near Miami

Crews are racing to rescue any survivors after fighting back fire and smoke deep inside the concrete and metal remains.

Rescue Crews Recover 5th Body At Condo Site Near Miami
Gerald Herbert / AP
SMS

Rescue crews found another body in the latest update of a collapsed 12-story oceanfront condo tower near Miami. Saturday's find in the rubble brings the death toll to five and there are still 156 people unaccounted for.

Crews are racing to recover any survivors after fighting back fire and smoke deep inside the concrete and metal remains. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said crews also discovered other unspecified human remains that they are working to identify.

Sen. Marco Rubio said: "We're grateful to the whole country and to this community that has responded the way it has and and continues to respond. And we continue to hold hope, we pray for God's grace, we pray for miracles, and we pray for God's peace and strength on the families and those who have been impacted by this."

According to documents released by the city, the ground-floor pool deck of the condo building was resting on a concrete slab that had "major structural damage." That 2018 engineering report also uncovered "abundant cracking and spalling" of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.

While the engineering report did not warn of imminent danger, it did note the need for extensive and costly repairs. It's unclear whether any of the damage observed was responsible for the Champlain Towers South collapse.