Search Of Collapsed Florida Apartment Block Grows Dire With 159 Still Unaccounted For

Scores of rescuers continue to dig through the rubble of the 12-story Surfside condo, more than two days after its collapse.

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — The torturous wait for word of nearly 160 people unaccounted for after an oceanfront condominium building collapsed near Miami, killing at least four, is taking a toll on relatives who can do little but pray and hope their loved ones will somehow be found alive in an increasingly dire hunt for survivors. As scores of rescuers used big machines, small buckets, drones, microphones and their own hands on Friday to pick through the mountain of debris that had been the 12-story Champlain Towers South, Rachel Spiegel was anxious for any update on her missing mother, 66-year-old Judy Spiegel, who lived on the sixth floor. “I’m just praying for a miracle,” Spiegel said. “We’re heartbroken that she was even in the building.” Jeanne Ugarte was coming to grips with what she feared was a tragic end for longtime friends Juan and Ana Mora and their son Juan Jr., who was visiting his parents in their condo at the tower.