There are no survivors in Florida building collapse: Report

Two weeks following a seaside condominium tower collapsed just north of Miami,Florida rescuers have said that there are no survivors in the tragic incident.

The rescuers said on Thursday their mission was no longer one of rescue, but had shifted to recovery. There were no survivors, Reuters reported.

"My sister and my brother-in-law were - are - in that building right now," said Martin Langesfeld, speaking at an impromptu memorial late Wednesday night a few hundred yards from the rubble, as the reality of vanquished hope set in.

Langesfeld, 23, said he still could not find words to describe his words. He stood bewildered before a pile of rubble, where his newly married sister, Nicole, got buried.

"I want to truly say thank you," Langesfeld said, looking into the eyes of the search and rescue team members standing a few feet away, whom he commended for putting their "blood, heart and souls" into trying to find his sister alive.

"We didn't get the outcome we wanted," he continued. "But we did become a family."

There were no miracle survivors pulled from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South, which collapsed on June 24, burying more than people.

Authorities have so far recovered 54 bodies, and another 86 people remain missing and feared dead.

US authorities have failed to provide a proper explanation for the building's collapse, though investigations are focusing on a 2018 engineering report that warned of structural deficiencies.

The 2018 engineering report showed the building had “major structural damage” to a concrete slab below its pool deck that needed extensive repairs, part of a series of documents released by the city of Surfside.

The report from the firm of Morabito Consultants did not warn of imminent danger from the damage, and it is unclear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse. But the report noted the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix systemic issues with the building, according to the AP.

It said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off.

The firm recommended that the damaged slabs be replaced in what would be a major repair.

The report also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage.

Report from 2018 warned of 'major damage' at collapsed Florida condo

An inspection in 2018 highlighted "a major error" in the original design of an apartment block that collapsed near Miami, Florida.

The building fell so forcefully that rescuers could find no "voids" or pockets where people might survive for days as has happened in some other cases around the world, Reuters reported.

Ray Jadallah, the assistant chief of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, explained to families during a Wednesday afternoon meeting that there was no longer any realistic hope of locating survivors.

"I reassured them that just because we transitioned to a search and recovery, doesn't necessarily mean that the trucks leave, that everyone leaves and everyone forgets the families," he said.

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