Death toll rises to 96 in Florida condo collapse

Miami-Dade police confirmed on Wednesday that another victim had been identified following the June 24 Surfside condo collapse, bringing the confirmed number of deaths to 96 people.

Police noted that Luis F. Barth Tobar, 51, had been recovered on Saturday.

Eleven people remain potentially unaccounted for, according to the Miami Herald, which cited a police spokesperson.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told the Miami Herald on Wednesday that due to the degradation of victims’ bodies over time, it has taken longer for people to identify victims recovered from the Surfside condo collapse. 

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) echoed these comments on Tuesday.

“At this step in the recovery process, we’re relying heavily on the work of the medical examiner’s office,” Cava said, according WPLG Local 10.

“It’s a scientific, methodical process to identify human remains. This work is becoming more difficult with the passage of time. Although our teams are working as hard as they can, it takes time,” she said.

Last week, officials transitioned from search and rescue effort to recovery effort after individuals “closest to the rescue efforts” came to a consensus that “the possibility of someone still alive is near zero,” according to Burkett.

“At this point, we have truly exhausted every option available to us in the search and rescue mission,” Cava said last Wednesday.