Searchers at Collapse Site ‘Not Seeing Anything Positive’ as Death Toll Rises to 36

Searchers at Collapse Site ‘Not Seeing Anything Positive’ as Death Toll Rises to 36
Rescue crews work in the rubble of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Fla., on July 6, 2021. Lynne Sladky/AP Photo
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SURFSIDE, Fla.—Officials overseeing the search at the site of the Florida condominium collapse sounded increasingly somber Tuesday about the prospects for finding anyone alive, saying they have detected no new signs of life in the rubble as the death toll climbed to 36.

Crews in yellow helmets and blue jumpsuits searched the debris for a 13th day while wind and rain from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Elsa complicated their efforts. Video released by the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department showed workers lugging pickaxes and power saws through piles of concrete rubble barbed with snapped steel rebar. Other searchers could be seen digging with gloved hands through pulverized concrete and dumping shovels of debris into large buckets.