Less than a week after the partial collapse of a twelve-story apartment building in the US state of Florida, President Joe Biden plans to visit the site of the accident, where the emergency services are still desperately looking for people who have been buried. Together with his wife Jill, he wants to thank the rescuers in Surfside near Miami and provide support to families who continue to fear for the lives of their loved ones, as the White House announced. The number of fatalities recovered from the rubble has recently increased again and is now at 18 - including two children, as it became known on Wednesday evening. Almost 150 people are still missing. It is therefore feared that the number of deaths is likely to increase significantly.

On Wednesday alone, the local authorities announced that a total of six more fatalities had been found by evening.

The mayor of the Miami-Dade district, Daniella Levine Cava, said on Wednesday evening at the scene of the accident that the most recently recovered victims were two children aged four and ten.

She complained that any loss of life was a tragedy, but the loss of children was "unbearable" and "terrible".

According to their information, 145 people are still missing.

Cause of the collapse still unexplained

The building close to the beach with around 130 residential units had partially collapsed last week on Thursday night for an unexplained cause. The misfortune surprised people in their sleep. Since then, a desperate search for possible survivors has been going on. Several hundred rescuers are on duty around the clock - with sniffer dogs, special cameras, listening instruments and heavy equipment. Shortly after the collapse, emergency teams were initially able to save several dozen people. In the past few days, however, the authorities have only announced gloomy news. The death toll rose steadily.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the Bidens wanted to "thank the heroic forces, the rescue teams and everyone who worked tirelessly around the clock" during their visit to the scene of the accident.

They also wanted to offer comfort to loved ones "who were forced to endure this terrible tragedy."

Psaki had emphasized on Monday that the President did not want to hinder the rescue work by a hasty visit.

DNA samples should help with identification

The local police made it clear that the search would continue unabated on Thursday despite Biden's visit.

The visit of the president and the first lady is a "great message" for the families, said a police representative.

"We are very grateful that the President is coming." This does not affect the search.

"That won't be a problem."

The search parties have also found unidentified “human remains” in the rubble.

To identify victims, DNA samples were collected from relatives of the residents.

The residential complex known as Champlain Towers South dates from the 1980s. The cause of the partial collapse is still unclear. In the past few days, an inspection report from 2018, written by an external company, had become public, in which experts had listed several defects - including major structural defects in the building's concrete. US media also reported on letters from the property management company, which warned of structural risks to renovate millions. Investigators will investigate the question of whether the apparently due renovations were related to the collapse.