Surfside mayor: Search operation 'absolutely not a recovery effort'

Although no survivors have been found since the day of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, the city's Mayor Charles Burkett is still holding out hope that some of the more than 120 people who are still missing will be rescued.

"It is absolutely not a recovery effort," Burkett told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation. He said he still considers the operation a search and rescue mission, pointing to other instances in which people were found alive under collapsed buildings after longer intervals.

And while the plan is to demolish the remainder of the structure "as soon as possible" with Tropical Storm Elsa potentially approaching the area, Burkett said the "intention is to bring the building down" in a way that won't affect the existing debris pile with victims in it.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up