Miami building collapse - updates: Death toll reaches 12 as extra rescue team requested amid tropical forecast

The governor of Florida has thanked the emergency services for their rescue efforts to date.

Ron DeSantis tweeted that they are “heroes”.

Nine people have been confirmed dead after the collapse of Champlain Towers South on Thursday morning.

However, the number of casualties is expected to jump considerably in the coming days, as 152 people still remain missing.

On Friday, Stacie Fang, 54, was named as the tragedy’s first victim by the authorities.

This was followed on Saturday by the news of the deaths of Manuel LaFont, 54; Gladys Lozano, 79; and Antonio Lozano, 83.

The death toll then rose by four yesterday, with the deceased identified as Luis Bermudez, 26; Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74; Leon Oliwkowicz, 80; and Anna Ortiz, 46.

The ninth victim has yet to be named.

Residents of the destroyed condo in Miami were just days away from making their first repairs down payment, it has been revealed.

First recommended three years ago, the work was set to cost apartment owners anywhere between $80,000 (£57,500) and $330,000 (£237,100), according to a cost estimate from Morabito Consultants in 2018. Most of the repairs centred around the pool area and the facade.

The first payment deadline was 1 July, with resident Adalberto Aguero telling AP that he had take out a loan to meet his $80,000 bill.

“I figured I would pay it off after they fixed the building. I didn’t want to pay it off before because you never know,” he said, adding that he had now cancelled all the installment payments.

Here is CNN with an overview of the latest developments from Miami:

As of Sunday afternoon, $1.2 million (£860,000) had been raised to help the victims of the building collapse in Surfside, Florida.

Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade county, said the area was “so deeply grateful to the entire global community for the outpouring of support”.

Other initiatives have also been established to help individual families. A list of verified fundraisers on GoFundMe can be found here.

Fire rescue crews at the collapsed condominium are up against the “most complex situation” the force has ever tackled, one of its leaders has said.

Speaking to the family and friends of the victims, Ray Jadallah, assistant fire chief at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR), said: “This is the most complex situation we’ve ever encountered.” This includes dealing with a “deep” fire.

MDFR is an internationally accredited department, which sends rescue workers to help with disasters overseas.

Experts have suggested that the Miami building collapse was caused by “a foundation-related matter”.

Speaking to The New York Times, Donald O. Dusenberry, a veteran consulting engineer, said: “It’s not like there’s a failure high and it pancaked down.

“[It] would suggest a foundation-related matter – potentially corrosion or other damage at a lower level.”

My colleague Gino Spocchia reports:

Relatives were allowed to visit the ruins of the Champlain Tower South condo on Sunday to grieve and pray after asking to go to the site for several days.

The visits were kept private and away from the media reporting from the scene. Family members got on Miami-Dade County buses and rode six blocks from the Grand Beach Hotel to the site of the collapsed building where the search-and-rescue operation is taking place, the Miami Herald reported.

Many cried, some wearing t-shirts adorned with photos of their loved ones. According to an official who escorted the families, a few called out the names of their loved ones, hoping that possible survivors in the rubble would be able to hear them.

Search-and-rescue officials have started to prepare families of missing persons for the possibility that their loved ones may not be found.

No survivors have been rescued since Thursday, the day the 13-story building came crashing down.

Experts say that clearing the rubble and identifying victims may take months, based on other similar experiences of other collapsed buildings, according to The New York Times.

During a briefing to families on Saturday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue assistant chief Ray Jadallah said: “Just bear with me what I’m about to say.”

“It’s going to sink in. I understand it’s very emotional. It’s not necessarily that we’re finding victims. We’re finding human remains,” he said.

“We’re having a hard time finding some of the bodies that are still intact,” he added.