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Authorities in Florida suspended the search and rescue operation at the Champlain Towers South condo collapse site on Thursday (July 1) morning. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that engineers voiced concerns about the structural integrity of the structure that is still standing.
"As many of you have already seen, we were forced to halt operations on the collapse in the early hours of the morning due to structural concerns about the standing structure," she told reporters. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that the safety of the first responders is paramount and to continue our search and rescue operation as soon as it is safe to do so."
Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky provided more details about the issues that were flagged by the engineers.
"Concern assessments included six to 12 inches of movement and a large column hanging from the structure that could fall and cause damage to the support columns in the subterranean garage area," he said.
Cominsky explained that even the slightest movement in the concrete floor slabs "could cause additional failure of the building."
Officials did not provide a timetable on when the rescue operation will resume or how the engineers plan to stabilize the structure.
The decision to halt the rescue operation was made hours before President Joe Biden arrived to meet with local officials, first responders, residents of the building, and the families of those who remain unaccounted for.