Florida condo collapse death toll rises to 12 amid search 'frustration'

MIAMI. KAZINFORM The death toll in the collapse of a 12-story apartment building in Surfside, Florida, rose to 12 Tuesday with the discovery of another body in the ruins, and as the number of people listed as missing dropped to 149.

In the first press conference of the day, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said to the despair of the families and friends of the missing that Monday's figures had not changed, but on Tuesday afternoon she reported a new confirmed fatality, EFE reports.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said on Tuesday that relatives and friends of the missing have been expressing anger and «frustration» as they wait for the seemingly ever-more-unlikely finding of their loved ones alive amid the ruins.

Levine Cava and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared before the media along with the heads of the various departments involved in the search and rescue operation, but were able to say only that rescue workers were doing everything in their power and «breaking their backs» to find survivors.

On Tuesday morning 210 emergency personnel were working at the disaster site and they will be relieved after their 12-hour shifts by other personnel, Levine Cava said.

In all, more than 800 people are assigned to the operation, working on different tasks, the officials said at their press conference.