ORLANDO, Fla. — More than a dozen rescue vehicles carrying about 40 members of Urban Search and Rescue Task Force IV drove along 36th Street were welcomed Saturday by a crowd of relatives, friends and a massive American flag displayed over the road despite the drizzling rain and humidity.
“I can’t see daddy? Where is daddy?” said two children as they ran after the vehicles to meet with their father. Others followed suit, chasing down and embracing their loved ones on Saturday afternoon, more than a week after the task force — comprised of first responders from Orange, Seminole and Lake counties — assisted operations in Surfside, where a condo complex collapsed.
So far, 24 people have been found dead and another 124 are still unaccounted for after more than a week of sifting through the wreckage at one of the Champlain Towers. Nearly 370 first responders from around Florida arrived to assist the effort along with federal and international crews working around the clock to recover the victims, made more difficult by sporadic fires, heavy rain and an unstable building.
