As many as nine of the 98 victims who died in the worst building collapse in modern U.S. history might have survived the initial cave-in, a USA TODAY investigation suggests. That total, almost 10% of the fatalities, includes one victim who fire rescue logs show was still alive about 10 hours after the devastating tragedy in Surfside, Florida. Fire rescue logs indicate that officials knew hours after the 1:25 a.m. collapse at Champlain Towers South on June 24 that survivors remained in the mountain of debris. The investigation raises questions about whether any of the victims of the collapse could have been rescued, and how the building collapse has been investigated, including why more autopsies were not performed. “That’s a horrifying thought,” said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett. “Families deserve to know what really happened to their loved ones. It’s the only way they can heal.” Officials have at times provided contradicting information about the collapse, but have largely insisted that all of the deceased victims died at or near the moment of collapse. The initial 67 reports that have been released by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s office list the causes of death for each victim as either “blunt force injuries” or "building collapse” – a term forensic experts said would not hold up in court because it does not conclude specifically what killed someone. Already, the families of victims have filed 34 lawsuits against the condo association, the architect and the consulting group that completed an independent structural assessment of the building prior to the collapse. #investigation #surfsidecondo #surfsidebuildingcollapse