Florida condo search shifts from rescue to recovery

The search and rescue for victims in the rubble that was once Champlain Towers South ended on Wednesday as Florida authorities said there is no longer hope that there will be any survivors.

Families and loved ones were informed during a briefing which was held in private that search efforts will come to an end. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told families that crews would stop using rescue dogs and listening devices, but would continue to search for remains.

"Our sole responsibility at this point is to bring closure," he said, as relatives could be heard crying in the background.

He also told them that the announcement was some of the hardest news he ever had to deliver in his professional career.

The announcement followed reports from emergency officials who said they sought to prepare families for the worst.

"At this point, we have truly exhausted every option available to us in the search-and-rescue mission," said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava at a news conference.

On Wednesday, eight more bodies were recovered from the site of the June 24 collapse, bringing the death toll to 54. The mayor said 86 people are still unaccounted for.

Since the remaining part of the building was demolished on Sunday night, 22 bodies have been recovered from the rubble, and officials had said the demolition of the remainder of the collapsed condominium building allowed rescue workers to get into areas they could not access before.

"When we say recovery, people think that means a big bulldozer comes and takes all debris to a big warehouse ... it's not the reality," said Golan Vach, a colonel who heads a specialized search and rescue unit of the Israel Defense Forces that is working with the South Florida crews.

"The reality is that we work with machines, we know where to dig, where to look. We search by hand. We find the victims and the relatives, and we pull them out very carefully."

After the announcement, family members and rescue workers held a vigil on Wednesday night near the site.

The gathering began shortly after 7 pm. Rescue workers, with their helmets held to their hearts and their boots coated in dust, joined local officials in a moment of silence.

The officials then walked slowly past a fence where families and well-wishers had placed photos of the victims, posters of support and flowers.

With the change from rescue to recovery, officials said, crews will continue to search for people who are still missing.

Agencies contributed to this story.