US President Joe Biden has stated that it is still possible to find survivors in the rubble of a building that collapsed last week near Miami in Florida.
Speaking after meeting the families of people who died or are still missing, he said that they were going “through hell”, and that federal funding for the rescue effort will continue for another month.
Biden also said that it was essential to find out what caused the collapse.
So far, eighteen bodies have been recovered but 145 people are still unaccounted for.
Rescue efforts resumed on Thursday evening after a 15-hour halt amid concerns over the stability of the remaining structure of the building. No survivors have been found in the rubble since the first hours after the disaster.
Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, has said that officials were planning for the possible demolition of the remaining structure and a decision would need to be made “extremely carefully and methodically” given how it would affect the search-and-rescue mission.
Eight days after the disaster, officials are still searching for answers about what may have caused the 40-year-old Miami building’s sudden collapse.
