The search for survivors of the Champlain South Towers condominium building collapse is now in its seventh day, but Southside Mayor Charles Burkett told Newsmax Wednesday that it is "not even prudent" to say yet when the efforts will stop.
"We've got a job to do," the mayor told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "The job is to bring those folks out of the rubble. I think it's unsettling to talk even now about when we're going to stop looking for those folks, especially in light of the fact that, uh there's very good evidence that there's a chance that someone may be alive in there ... for my part, we keep going. We don't stop and we support the families. That's all that matters."
The bodies of more victims of the June 24 early morning collapse were found on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 12 while 149 people remain missing.
Burkett said he hopes searchers "will get lucky today and pull some people out of that rubble alive."
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are traveling Thursday to Surfside to meet with officials and mourning families in the wake of the massive collapse, and Burkett said he does believe Biden has given "substantial support" and that he's "really done what he needed to do as president."
"I'm going to thank the president for he's calling me immediately following the disaster and telling me that we're not going to encounter red tape and that we're going to get the benefit of every possible resource necessary to save those lives," Burkett said. "I appreciate all that, and he held up his end of the bargain, so he's really done what he needed to do as president and Florida is grateful for that very, very substantial support."
The White House says Biden supports a thorough investigation about the collapse and about several reports that were made that the building had structural issues.
Meanwhile, searchers themselves are in danger because of debris that has been falling off the building's rubble.
"When I arrived yesterday morning, they had cordoned off a section of the western part of the pile, which is up against the building and I was told that overnight, there had been some debris that was falling down and you obviously can't put people underneath that working," said Burkett. "That's absolutely a no. (Work) is going to be undertaken to sort of pick those things off the side of the building so that the work can continue in that area, but having said that it's important to note that they're working from underneath their working from the sides, so work even in that area is ongoing."
Meanwhile, there are also concerns about a nearby sister building that was built by the same contractor at the same time as Champlain Towers South. Burkett said the building is lightly occupied at this time and there were only two families that have requested to be relocated.
"We have established funds for that and we are working on that today, so anybody that wants to relocate can relocate and anybody that doesn't feel uncomfortable saying in the building can stay in the building," said Burkett, adding that that building's condo association has been "actively involved in negotiating" and that he spoke to one engineering firm the board interviewed.
"I'm just hopeful that they're going to pull the trigger as quickly as possible and get them in there and get that inspection going," said Burkett.
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