Community Chat

[Mindy D]

Rescue workers recovered four deceased persons overnight. The number of known dead is nine. The mayor also said that besides the four bodies, additional remains were found last night. Mayor Cava said, 

"As of today, one victim has passed away in the hospital and we’ve recovered eight more victims on site, so I am confirming today that the death toll is nine. We’ve identified four of the victims and notified the next of kin."

A trench has been built underneath the rubble. It's 135 feet long, 30 feet wide and 40 feet deep. It serves as a firebreak to try to contain the fire and to add acess for the rescuers. It was because of the trench that the rescuers were able to recover the victims last night. 

I shudder to think what The Mayor meant by "additional remains."

According to Governor DeSantis The work is going slowly, in part, because the building's rubble is of forensic value in determining the cause of the collapse. The rubble is being sent to a warehouse. 

The ten person Israeli search and rescue team has arrived and has joined forces with local teams and the team from Mexico. 

[Kachina624]

@Mindy D    Thanks, everyone is awaiting updates. 

[MarieIG]

Just - heart breaking.

[catter70]

My heart breaks for those lost and their families.

[Catty2]

I heard on the news that all the people waiting to hear about their loved ones have supplied DNA samples to help in the ID of remains.   Hopefully,  the relatives will be able to have some closure if their loved one's remains can be identified.  

[GoneButNotForgotten]

considering the state of that building, somone should go to prison. They knew there were problems and dragged their feet getting them attended to.

[Goodie2shoes]

@GoneButNotForgottenwrote: considering the state of that building, somone should go to prison. They knew there were problems and dragged their feet getting them attended to.

As I mentioned on another post, the engineers and inspectors will blame each other for years and move on but the families who lost loved ones will never forget. I think there will be many lawsuits for years to come. Very Tragic and I pray for those families

[Scorpio1971]

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@Goodie2shoes wrote:

@GoneButNotForgottenwrote: considering the state of that building, somone should go to prison. They knew there were problems and dragged their feet getting them attended to.

As I mentioned on another post, the engineers and inspectors will blame each other for years and move on but the families who lost loved ones will never forget. I think there will be many lawsuits for years to come. Very Tragic and I pray for those families

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@Goodie2shoes 

Yes there will be many lawsuits and most likely there will be no money to pay any settlements or court judgements either.  If it is proven there was negligence by not having repairs done according to the reports & inspections, then the insurance company/companies will most likely not pay on the loss, whether for the building structure itself, or the liability issue of the loss/injury to people.  Any money they already have in the condo association accounts will be quickly eaten up by attorney fees to represent the condo association & board members.  Litigation will be useless, unfortunately.  The land it sat on is basically worthless at this point too because it was filled in land.  Filled in land always has the possibility of shifting & failing, and who on earth is going to want to put a new building on the site of such a tragedy.  And this may well have been a failure of a combination of issues that all lead to this sad event, the building structure, the piles it was built on, and natural occurrence of ocean activity rotting the materials or creating a sinkhole.

Just tragic for all families, friends, co-workers of all.

[PamfromCT]

Some filled areas can be safe for buildings, when they are built on a bedrock base.  Areas in Boston are a good example.

Potential lawsuits may extend beyond a condo association,

perhaps targeting authorities responsible for determining safety.  Who knows?  But all the money in the world won’t bring one person back.

[Drythe]

Not forgetting, or overlooking the victims, and their families.

I want to send thoughts, and prayers to the many rescuers and responders who are putting their own safety and lives at risk in an effort to save others.

It is a special calling,