5 years after the Surfside condo collapse, the toll of the tragedy remains

National 5 years after the Surfside condo collapse, the toll of the tragedy remains June 24, 20265:00 AM ET By  Marisa Peñaloza ,  Debbie Elliott Search and rescue official Maggie Castro hugs Pablo Langesfeld on July 7, 2021, as they visit a memorial for victims of the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse. Langesfeld's daughter Nicole and son-in-law were among those who died in the 12-story building's collapse. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images SURFSIDE, Fla. — A torch was lit just after 1 a.m. Wednesday in remembrance of the 98 people killed when the Champlain Towers South building collapsed on June 24, 2021, one of the largest structural failures in U.S. history. Police body cam video shows officers arriving in the darkness to find two-thirds of the 12-story condominium complex in a heap of rubble, with people in the remaining units stranded, screaming for help from their balconies. It didn't take long for first responders to realize what they were up against. "This is huge, I mean humongous," one officer tells his captain. Sponsor Message The condo collapse was the highest-level mass casualty event ever in Miami-Dade County. "Just everything about this was surreal," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who led the government response, said in a recent interview with NPR. "Arriving on the scene and surveying it is when you get that gut punch. Beyond belief. They call it pancaking, where the layers of the floors were all compressed and you could still see them." First responders were called in from all around South Florida to help cordon off the site, get ambulances in place and rescue survivors. Maimi-Dade Fire Chief Raied "Ray" Jadallah, who was assistant chief for operations at the time, recalled seeing an image of the collapse shared by one of the officers on the scene. "The first picture just about made my heart sink," he said. This aerial view, shows search and rescue personnel working on site after...