Security is tightening around the South Florida condo collapse, with only authorized personnel allowed there — as the mayor of Surfside, Fla. declared it “a holy site.”
Mayor Charles Burkett said Monday he was speaking with city officials and families of the victims to discuss future plans at the location, CNN reported.
"I first want to touch on something that's become more and more apparent as the operation has gone on -- and that is the significance of that site with respect to the people who have lost their lives there," Burkett said during a Monday briefing, CNN reported.
"It is the right thing to do because it is obvious that this has become more than a collapsed building site, it's a holy site."
Crews recovered another body in the rubble overnight Monday into Tuesday, bringing the total number of victims to 95, CNN reported.
So far, 85 of the victims have been identified and 85 next of kin have been notified, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. One victim was identified Tuesday as 1-year-old Aishani Gia Patel, the youngest victim identified thus far.
Cava also stated that crews have been hard at work removing over 18 million pounds of concrete from the collapse site.
"The process of making identifications has become more difficult as time goes on," Cava said.
"We must rely heavily on the work of the medical examiner's office ... to identify human remains. The process is very methodical and it's careful and it does take time," she said.
Crews have worked on the site nearly non-stop since the June 24 collapse.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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