#Death toll in Florida building collapse rises to 20

The death toll has risen to 20 in the collapse of a beachfront building in Florida, officials said at a briefing Friday.

“Last night we did discover two additional victims,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a briefing. “Tragically, one of those victims was the 7-year-old daughter of a city of Miami firefighter.”

“Last night was uniquely different,” Cava said. “Different and more difficult for our first responders.”

The mayor said 128 people remain unaccounted for since the collapse.

Rescue workers have been sifting through the rubble at the site of Champlain Towers South in Surfside since the building collapsed shortly before 1:30 a.m. on June 24.

The building, built in 1981, was cited for structural deficiencies in a 2018 report, but repair work was delayed for years amid bickering on the condo association board over the $15 million price tag for repairs.

Work at the site was halted for about 15 hours on Thursday amid concerns that portions of the building still standing could fall and endanger rescue workers.

Officials are now drawing up plans to demolish that portion of the structure.