Biden assures that “more can be done” and that “what is really important” is to “cooperate” with state authorities
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced Thursday that the search and rescue mission in the collapsed apartment building has been halted due to “concerns about the remaining structure.”
The authorities have been “forced” to stop operations in the early hours of this morning due to “concerns about the standing structure” of the building, said Levine Cava, adding that they are doing “everything possible” to ensure the safety of rescue workers.
In this sense, work is being done to “continue the search and rescue operation as soon as possible”, reports CNN.
Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky has detailed that rescue efforts stopped at around 2:00 am due to concerns about the “stability of the building”, as the team of engineers displaced in the area detected a movement in one of the remaining columns.
So far, 18 bodies have been rescued from the rubble of the demolished apartment building in Miami, while another 145 people remain missing.
“WE CAN DO MORE”, ASSURES BIDEN
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the first lady, Jill Biden, arrived this Thursday in the state of Florida, where they met with the governor, Ron DeSantis, and other local authorities, including Levine Cava. Biden has conveyed to DeSantis that his intention is to “make sure they have everything they need,” offering federal aid to the state.
“I think there is more that we can do,” Biden assured during the meeting, where he promised that in the next few days, and even months, “there will be psychological help” to deal with the “pain, anxiety and suffering” that there will be.
In addition, he added that he believes “to have the power to cover one hundred percent of the costs of the county and the state”, something that will be known “shortly”, after highlighting that “what is really important” is “cooperate.”
DeSantis, for his part, thanked the president for having “recognized the seriousness of the tragedy from day one” and for having supported the state authorities in managing the emergency.
The president has also visited the rescue teams, to whom he has transferred that “what they are doing is very difficult to handle, even psychologically”, for which he has wanted to thank them and has assured them that he “understands them” .
The authorities are analyzing whether there could have been some kind of irregularity in the maintenance or surveillance of the building. Neighbors in the area have been evacuated in recent days as a precaution.
