Florida Condo Death Toll Rises to 78, Workers Make Big Progress on Debris

A rescue worker is seen as search-and-rescue efforts resume at Champlain Towers South complex in Surfside, Fla., on July 5, 2021. Marco Bello/Reuters

The confirmed death toll in the collapse of a Miami-area condominium tower increased to 78 on Friday after workers recovered an additional 14 bodies and whittled the rubble down close to ground level, officials said.

A total of 62 people remain missing and feared dead in the concrete and steel ruins of the 12-story building in the oceanfront town of Surfside, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference.