WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The death toll in the Surfside, Florida, condominium building collapse increased to 22 after two additional bodies were recovered from the rubble, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters.
"Over the course of today's search, we did recover two additional victims, we now have 22 confirmed deaths," Cava said on Friday evening.
Cava noted that 126 people are still unaccounted for.
The mayor said she signed an emergency order authorizing the demolition of the remainder of the 12-story building that is still standing due to safety concerns, but engineers are still evaluating the best timeline to begin demolition and a decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Cava underscored that emergency crews will not take any action that would jeopardize ongoing search and rescue operations.