OFFICIALS TOLD THEM IN A 2018
MEETING THAT THE BUILDING WAS,
QUOTE, NOT IN BAD SHAPE.
JOINING US NOW IS FROM SURFSIDE,
FLORIDA, PATRICIA, MIAMI BUREAU
CHIEF OF THE MIAMI TIMES.
SHES BEEN COVERING THIS FROM
THE VERY BEGINNING.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO
TALK TO US TONIGHT.
I KNOW THIS IS AN EXHAUSTING
STORY.
>> HAPPY TO BE HERE TO TELL
PEOPLES STORIES ABOUT IT.
>> HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHERE WE
ARE IN THE PROCESS.
THE THING THAT IS GUT-WRENCHING
HERE IS NOT ONLY THE KNOWN LOSS
OF LIFE ALREADY BUT THE VERY
LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO
REMAIN UNACCOUNTED FOR, AND THE
FACT THAT THIS IS DAY FIVE.
OBVIOUSLY, THE FIRST 72 HOURS IS
SEEN AS THE SORT OF GOLDEN
PERIOD, THAT SORT OF BEST WINDOW
FOR HOPES OF FINDING PEOPLE
ALIVE.
DAY FIVE, IT IS STARTING TO FEEL
LIKE A VERY, VERY SCARY
SITUATION.
>> YEAH, I THINK OVER THE
WEEKEND ESPECIALLY, AFTER THE
SORT OF INITIAL FRUSTRATION FROM
THE FAMILIES ABOUT NOT KNOWING
EXACTLY WHAT WAS HAPPENING, THEY
WERE ABLE TO SEE UP CLOSE.
THEY WERE TAKEN AS CLOSE TO THE
SITE AS THEY COULD GET TO SORT
OF WITNESS THE SEARCH EFFORTS
THEMSELVES.
AND THEY SAW THE HUNDREDS OF
PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING NEAR THE
PILE.
THEY SAW THIS LABYRINTH OF
TUNNELS AND MACHINERY THAT IS
NOW WORKING THERE, AND THEY WERE
ABLE TO SORT OF HAVE A PRIVATE
MOMENT THERE TO GRIEVE.
SO I THINK THAT HAS LED TO
OFFICIALS STARTING TO EASE THEM
INTO THE IDEA AS HORRIBLE AS IT
IS, THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A
LONG, PAIN-STAKING PROCESS AND
WHAT THEY MIGHT FIND ARE HUMAN
REMAINS BUT ITS GOING TO BE
VERY DIFFICULT.
THE RESCUE WORKERS I HAVE SPOKEN
TO TALK ABOUT JUST THE ENORMITY
OF IT BEING VERY DIFFERENT FROM
ANYTHING THEY HAVE HAD TO WORK
BEFORE IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF
POSSIBLE FATALITIES.
AND THEY DESCRIBE REALLY
HARROWING SITUATIONS WHERE THEY
FIND ONE FLOOR JUST BARELY A
COUPLE FEET FROM ANOTHER FLOOR.
NORMALLY, THERE WOULD BE ABOUT
TEN FEET TWEEMBETWEEN THE CEILIN
THE FLOOR OF ONE STORY OF THE
BUILDING.
NOW WERE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE
TWO FEET, ONE FOOT OF SPACING.
ITS JUST REALLY TERRIBLE,
EVERYTHING WE HEAR COMING OUT OF
THE SITE.
>> CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT HOW OFFICIALS ARRIVED AT
THIS, AS I SAID, THIS SORT OF
TERRIFYING NUMBER, THERE MAY BE
AS MANY AS 150 PEOPLE WHO ARE
UNACCOUNTED FOR NOW, FIVE DAYS
INTO THIS?
HOW CONFIDENT ARE THEY IN THAT
NUMBER?
OBVIOUSLY, IT LOOMS AS A
THEORETICAL POTENTIAL DEATH TOLL
WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER.
>> THEY STILL CALL IT A VERY
FLUID NUMBER.
THEY HAVE NOT BEEN WILLING TO
RELEASE THE NAMES ON IT BECAUSE
THEY FEAR ITS NOT ENTIRELY
CORRECT YET.
THEY HAVE DEPENDED ON FAMILIES
TO COME FORWARD AND REPORT THEIR
LOVED ONES MISSING.
AND FILE FORMAL PAPERWORK,
SAYING THAT.
AND SO THE QUESTION IS, YOU
KNOW, THERES A BIG
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN SOUTH
FLORIDA.
HAVE THEY REACHED EVERYBODY WHO
MIGHT BE ABROAD, IN OTHER
COUNTRIES?
ARE THERE LANGUAGE BARRIERS?
ITS REALLY BEEN A PROCESS OF
RELYING ON THE FAMILIES TO COME
FORWARD AND JUST YESTERDAY, THEY
WERE SAYING THEY DIDNT THINK
THEY HAD HEARD FROM ALL THE
FAMILIES OF THE MISSING YET, AND
THEY WANTED THEIR INFORMATION.
THEY WANTED THEIR DNA TO BE
SWABBED SO THAT THEY COULD MAKE
COMPARISONS WITH ANY REMAINS
THEY FIND.
ITS SORT OF A SLOW PROCESS, AND
ONE THAT THEY DONT HAVE, YOU
KNOW, COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN
BEING COMPLETELY CORRECT.
I THINK WE WOULD ALL LOVE TO
THINK THAT A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE
ARE SORT OF ON VACATION
SOMEWHERE AND NOT FOLLOWING THE
NEWS, BUT I DONT KNOW THAT
THATS THE CASE.
>> IN TERMS OF THE ONGOING
EFFORTS, THE RESCUE AND RECOVERY
EFFORTS, ITS BEEN INTERESTING
TO SEE INTERNATIONAL TEAMS COME
IN, TEAMS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES,
AND TEAMS FROM AROUND THE UNITED
STATES, THAT HAVE SPECIALIZED
EXPERTISE, SPECIALIZED
EQUIPMENT.
CAN YOU GIVE US ANY SENSE OF HOW
DANGEROUS THE RESCUE AND
RECOVERY EFFORTS ARE?
OBVIOUSLY, THESE ARE SPECIALIZED
TEAMS AND THEY KNOW WHAT THEYRE
DOING, BUT SOME OF THE PACE OF
IT, I THINK, OBVIOUSLY, LIKE YOU
SAID, THEY HAVE GOT AN
ENORMOUS -- THE ENORMITY OF THE
TASK IS DAUNTING.
BUT ARE THEY THEMSELVES AT RISK
FOR POTENTIAL FURTHER COLLAPSE
WHILE THEYRE ON SITE, ON THE
PILE?
>> THAT WAS OF PARTICULAR
CONCERN EARLY ON.
IT STILL IS, BUT EARLY ON, THEY
REALLY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY
WERE FACING, AND THEY WERE GOING
THROUGH THE BOTTOM, THROUGH
THESE TUNNELS BECAUSE THEY
THOUGHT THAT WAS THE BEST CHANCE
THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO FIND
WHAT THEY CALLED VOIDS, WHICH
ARE EMPTY SPACES WHERE THEY
MIGHT FIND LIFE, AND SO THEY
STARTED AT THE BOTTOM, DRILLING
THROUGH BIT BY BIT, AND SHORING
UP THE CONCRETE SO THAT THE
RESCUE WORKERS THEMSELVES
WOULDNT BE INJURED.
WE DID HEAR TODAY, WHICH IS A
FRIGHTENING THOUGHT, OF ONE OF
THE RESCUE WORKERS KIND OF
FALLING DOWN THE MOUND 25 FEET.
WE WERE ALSO TOLD THERE WERE NO
SERIOUS INJURIES, BUT THE TEAMS
TRAVEL WITH TRAUMA SURGEONS, IN
LARGE PART TO PROTECT THE
WORKERS BECAUSE IT IS VERY
DANGEROUS, BECAUSE THEY DONT
KNOW IF THERES GOING TO BE A
SECONDARY COLLAPSE.
AND WHEN THERE WERE THOSE
CONDITIONS OF FIRE AND
THUNDERSTORMS AND RAIN AND SORT