Updated July 2, 2021 at 7:35 PM ET
As search and rescue efforts at the site of the Surfside, Fla., condo collapse stretch into day nine, officials have said that the number of confirmed fatalities has risen to 22, and the Miami-Dade County mayor has signed an order to demolish the rest of the building.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava reassured the families still hoping for their missing relatives miraculously to survive that the demolition has not been scheduled. But she said the remaining structure is a danger to public health and safety, and engineers will advise her on when it should be taken down.
Levine Cava told reporters earlier Friday that one of the two fatalities recovered overnight was the 7-year-old daughter of a firefighter for the city of Miami.
"It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult for everybody, particularly the families that have been impacted," Levine Cava said. "But last night was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and women are paying an enormous human toll each every day, and I ask that all of you please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers."
"They truly represent the very best in all of us, and we need to be there for them as they are here for us," she said.
The number of people who have been accounted for has grown to 188, officials also confirmed Friday. In many cases, detectives followed leads regarding individuals who were unaccounted for but then reached them and discovered they were safe.
The number unaccounted for has gone down on Friday from 145 to 126 as investigators look into and resolve the cases.
Officials have not yet released the names of all of the dead and missing people, and asked Friday that the privacy of the families be respected.
Another condo complex has been evacuated
Another condominium building, Crestview Towers, in North Miami Beach, Fla., was evacuated Friday after an engineer found unsafe conditions at the building. City officials ordered residents out immediately.
All buildings in Miami-Dade County must undergo a 40-year safety recertification. As part of the review, city officials in North Miami Beach got the engineer's report from the Crestview condo association. The report, which the condo board got from the engineer last January, concluded that the building was structurally and electrically unsafe. The building has 156 units and was constructed in 1972.
The city says a full structural assessment needs to be conducted before determining whether residents can return to the Crestview Towers.
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