Joe and Jill Biden have arrived in Miami to visit the doomed apartment block that collapsed leaving at least 18 people dead and a further 147 people missing.

The president and the first lady will meet with families of the victims later today and will also thank the first responders and rescue teams who have worked around the clock to pull people from the rubble.

The Bidens will see first-hand the destruction that was caused when the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, came crumbling to the ground during its partial collapse in the early hours of last Thursday morning, June 24.

Earlier today, Thursday, the bodies of two children, aged 4 and 10, were recovered from the pile of bricks and mortar to bring the death toll up to 18.

The cause of the collapse is still unknown, but an engineers report sent months before the deadly incident warned that structural damage to the building was accelerating. That warning letter followed a similar one, in 2018, that valued the necessary repairs at around $15m.

During his visit president Biden will also meet the mayor of Surfside, Charles Burkett, and the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, as he looks to end his condolences to the disaster-stricken area.

The 18 victims range in age from 4 to 92 years old. Sixteen have been identified so far: Michael David Altman, 50; Luis Bermudez, 26; Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74; Stacie Fang, 54; Andreas Giannitsopoulos, 21; Emma Guara, 4; Lucia Guara, 10; Marcus Joseph Guara, 52; Frank Kleiman, 55; Manuel LaFont, 54; Antonio Lozano, 82; Gladys Lozano, 80; Hilda Noriega, 92; Leon Oliwkowicz, 80; Anna Ortiz, 46; and Anaely Rodriguez, 42.

Mayor Charles Burkett has told families of the trapped victims that rescue crews are ‘not leaving anyone behind’ as the recovery efforts continue.

This is a breaking story, more to follow…

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