Miami tower collapse toll climbs to 5

SURFSIDE, Florida－Searchers worked early on Sunday to find more than 150 missing residents amid the rubble of a Florida condo building that collapsed three days ago as questions arose about the tower's structural integrity.

The death toll rose to five on Saturday after emergency workers found a victim in their methodical search of the site in Surfside, a shore town near Miami, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during an evening news briefing.

Workers also found some human remains; three other victims were identified and their family members notified, she said.

Firefighters on Saturday made progress on a smoldering fire and smoke beneath the rubble of the 40-year-old building, allowing rescuers to search with fewer limitations, officials said.

Aided by dogs, infrared scanning and heavy equipment, rescuers hope that people can survive in air pockets that may have formed in the debris.

US State Department representatives were on site, US Senator Marco Rubio said, calling the situation a "highly complex disaster "involving a "substantial number" of foreign nationals and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have joined local and state authorities at the site. A nearby "sister building" of the collapsed tower is also being looked at because it was built at the same time and with the same designer, he said.

Safety checks

Authorities announced they were beginning an audit of buildings nearing their 40-year review, like the fallen Champlain Towers South, to ensure they are safe. Also late on Saturday, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said a city official had led a cursory review of the nearby Champlain Towers North and Champlain Towers East buildings but "didn't find anything out of the ordinary."

Burkett had said earlier he was working on a plan to temporarily relocate residents of the Champlain Towers North, which was built the same year and sits about 90 meters away from the collapsed building.

An engineering report in 2018 showed the building had "major structural damage" to a concrete slab below its pool deck that needed extensive repairs. The report did not warn of imminent danger from the damage, but said extensive and costly repairs were needed to fix the systemic issues with Champlain Towers South.

Ai Heping in New York contributed to this story.

Agencies Via Xinhua