US safety agency starts probe into Miami's surfside condo collapse

A technical probe into the collapse of Miami's surfside condo has been launched by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) affiliated with the US Commerce Department.

"Today the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced it would launch a full technical investigation into what caused the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021," the Commerce Department's NIST said in a press release on Wednesday.

The release said that officials are on site of the incident but will not enter the actual ground of the collapse until it is considered safe to do so. The agency said its probe could reveal potential issues for other buildings near the collapse, along the coastline.

The probe will not interfere with search and rescue operations, and the agency is cooperating with all levels of government responding to the collapse, the release said.

On Wednesday, the Miami-Dade County mayor said the death toll stands at 18 and 147 residents of the Surfside condo building are still unaccounted for.