This archive report was first published on 7 July 2021.
Published on July 7, 2021, at 2:34 PM ET, the search for survivors in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, continues as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches the state's Gulf Coast.
On Tuesday, officials allowed reporters to get a closer look at the site of the condo collapse, which occurred on June 24. The new vantage point offered a sobering view of the rescue site from across the street, where a visitor might have walked past the entrance sign, up the steps, and into the building's lobby just days before.
Heavy machinery trawled at the back of the site, digging through the rubble in a search-and-rescue effort that has yielded no signs of life. The authorities have confirmed 36 deaths, with more than 100 people still unaccounted for.
As Tropical Storm Elsa approaches, search-and-rescue teams will continue their efforts, despite the challenging weather conditions. The storm is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the region.
On the site of the tennis courts where residents once played, now stood site workers' tents. A sign on the corner invited neighbors to the weekly Surfside farmers' market, a relic of what seemed like another era.
Stacie Dawn Fang, 54, was the first victim identified in the condo collapse. She was the mother of Jonah Handler, a 15-year-old boy who was pulled alive from the rubble in a dramatic rescue as he begged rescuers, “Please don’t leave me.”
