The remainder of the 12-storey apartment block that collapsed in Miami will be demolished on Sunday, city officials have said.
It comes as authorities announced that two more bodies have been pulled from the rubble in Florida, bringing the number of people that have died in the collapse to 24.
There have been concerns over the last few days that the building, which partially collapsed on 24 June, could come down on its own, putting at risk the fire and rescue crews who are searching for victims.
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‘Water leak’ seen moments before Miami collapse
During a morning briefing on Saturday, families of the missing were told that demolition crews would roll in and bring down the building “as soon as possible – first thing tomorrow”.
Meetings are being held to finalise the details of the demolition, which will involve experts going into the remaining structure to install explosives.
Searches around the building have been affected by worries the rest of the building could collapse, with shifts picked up by monitors on Thursday meaning that teams had to stop work for 15 hours until engineers deemed it safe to carry on.
Fire Rescue assistant fire chief Raide Jadallah said that the remnants of the demolished building will need to be removed immediately, with the intention of giving search teams access to parts of the garage for the first time, which has been a focus of the operation.
It is hoped that the rescue operation would only be halted for a short time following the demolition.
Tropical Storm Elsa is also barrelling towards Florida from the Caribbean Sea, raising further concerns that strong winds could destabilise the remaining section of the building.
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‘They’re going through hell’
The number of missing had been revised down from 145 to 126 by officials, after duplicate names were taken off the list and some residents reported being safe.
Families have been told they will not be allowed to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings.
Overnight into Saturday, the body of a seven-year-old girl was pulled from the wreckage in Miami – the third child to have been recovered from the rubble.
President Joe Biden visited the site earlier in the week, telling a news conference “hope springs eternal”.
He added: “The whole nation is mourning with these families.”