The huge pile of concrete and rubble from the collapsed building in Miami is now almost an empty pit

(CNN) – Nearly four weeks ago, search and rescue teams were confronted by a pile of concrete and twisted metal debris as they tried to find the victims of the collapse of the Miami apartment building.Now, the images of the scene show an empty space where hundreds of people once lived.

More than 10 million kilos of debris has been removed from the site since the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South on June 24, while many of the residents slept.

Since then, 97 bodies of victims have been recovered, of which 95 have been identified.

Even as time passed and the chance of finding survivors diminished, crews on the ground remained engaged in the arduous task of combing through the debris, pausing only when the weather was dangerous and when the remains of the building were demolished.

Officials promised the families that the search would not end until all their loved ones were recovered.

“At the site of the original collapse, we are almost at the bottom,” Miami-Dade police spokesman Álvaro Zabaleta told CNN last week. “Does that mean that we are almost done with the search? No. Until we clear the whole place and find no more human remains, we are not finished,” he said.

All that’s left is a handful of concrete debris scattered around the building’s site.

Clear path for researchers

Once the search is officially over, the investigation into what caused the collapse it can fully begin, experts said.

“Until they do their job, we can’t go in there to make samples of materials and take those samples and test them to understand what were the different components of the building that collapsed,” structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer told CNN’s Ana Cabrera.

The first night he was at the scene, Kilsheimer, who also investigated the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, said he had about 20 or 30 theories about possible triggers.

Since then, he has removed some but added five or six more, he said, but he will not be able to narrow them down while the search continues.

Multiple requests to investigate

Florida State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle confirmed the existence of “multiple requests from engineers and lawyers” to access the site.

“Engineers from the federal agency National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were dispatched to Surfside with the authority of Congress to gather evidence and determine how and why Champlain Tower South collapsed. NIST is the body charged with investigating the collapses. buildings like the World Trade Center, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates air crashes, “Rundle said in a statement.

“I understand that once NIST, the Miami-Dade Fire Department, and the Miami-Dade Police Department determine that it is safe and appropriate for others to access the site, they will be allowed to do so under the guidelines established by those agencies, “Rundle said.

The agony of waiting

Many families now have answers to questions about the fate of their loved ones, marking a new chapter in their grief.

In the days after the collapse, Debbie Hill’s father was considered missing. Not knowing where he was and what had happened to him was “the big problem,” he told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

Nicole Ortiz said the agony of waiting to know the fate of her sister and her nephew was indescribable. “I screamed,” he told CNN’s Ryan Young. “I almost fainted. I cried.”

Sergio Lozano is coping with the loss of his two parents, Antonio and Gladys.
“They died together,” Lozano said. “It is not fair … to be crushed, to be destroyed. It is not fair,” he lamented.

Judge: Families will not be asked to sacrifice real estate

The judge overseeing civil trials for the landslide said survivors and families of the victims will not be asked to donate their real estate for the public good.

During a state-of-the-art hearing on Wednesday, 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said he is not immune from comments suggesting the site should be turned into a memorial.

But, Hanzman said, the court’s concern is with the victims telling the attorneys at the hearing, “Regardless of the opinions of some non-victims, the task of this court and yours is to compensate the victims of this tragedy. , period “.

Judge Hanzman said his job is to make sure victims get what they are legally entitled to.

“These victims who have lost their homes, their personal belongings and, in many cases, their lives, are not going to sacrifice the value of their real estate for the public good.”

CNN’s Travis Caldwell, Rosa Flores, Rebekah Riess, Leyla Santiago, Claudia Dominguez and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.