Officials: Smoldering fires hampering rescue ops at collapsed Florida condo

(UPI) – Fires burning beneath the rubble of a collapsed condominium complex near Miami are hindering efforts to rescue survivors among 159 missing residents, officials said in update Saturday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the fires have picked up in intensity since Thursday's collapse in Surfside, Florida. "If you were there the morning after, you didn't see it smoldering like it is now," DeSantis told reporters. "The stench is very thick, and it obviously has created quite an obstacle."

"We're using everything possible to address this fire," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said, noting that the source of the flames was "very deep" within the rubble and "extremely difficult to locate." "We're using infrared technology, we're using foam ... we're using water and all the tactics we can to contain the fire." she said.

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