Mourners stop to pay respects to the missing victims at the memorial outside St. Joseph Catholic Church near the collapsed Champlain Towers condo in Surfside, Fla., on Wednesday. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Jack Franco (R) and his wife stop to say a prayer for the missing people at the memorial. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
On Tuesday, after discovering 18 dead, emergency workers shifted efforts to recovery instead of rescue. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
In an effort to prepare for incoming Tropical Storm Elsa, the search for victims was suspended due to the controlled demolition of the remainder of Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Fla., on Sunday. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers temporarily stopped the search for victims on July 1, due to a shift in the rubble at the partially collapsed residential building. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
People stop at a makeshift memorial June 30 for victims of the disaster. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
The White House announced the President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Surfside. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
A new team of rescue workers walk to the check-in station. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers continue to search for victims at the site of Champlain Towers on June 29. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers continue to search for victims at the site of a partially collapsed residential building in Surfside, Fla. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers continue to work through the rubble on June 28. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers watch as a victim is lifted up by a crane. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers get ready to lift a yellow body bag with the remains of a victim from the disaster. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
A visitor to a memorial wall near the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers in Surfside, Fla., wipes away tears on June 27. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Visitors hug in front of the memorial wall. Photo By Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell (L) walk with their heads down to a press conference near the site. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Signs and flowers are placed on a fence across from the building site. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Few remains have been freed from the rubble. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Miami-Dade fire and rescue workers get ready to access the source of the small fires that continue to breakout as rescue workers work on the partially collapsed building on June 25. Photo By Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Occasional rain and fires have complicated search-and-rescue efforts at the site. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Heavy equipment is used to carefully dig through the debris. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Rescue workers and their dogs get ready for another shift of searching through the debris. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Residents from the area watch the rescue workers. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Miami-Dade police supply therapy dogs for residents and children to play with while waiting for transportation to temporary living quarters. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration on Friday to provide federal aid to the area. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
There were no signs of foul play in causing the collapse of the building, built in 1981. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the media near the building, issuing a state of emergency for Miami-Dade County. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Residents of the tower and friends and family of the missing gather to await news from search-and-rescue efforts. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Residents who survived the building collapse wait for transportation to temporary living quarters. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Champlain Towers is located on the Atlantic Ocean in Surfside, Fla., about three miles north of Miami Beach. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
July 7 (UPI) -- Emergency workers shifted efforts at the site of a condominium tower collapse near Miami from rescue to recovery following a dramatic increase in the death toll on Wednesday with 18 more victims discovered.
In a news conference Wednesday evening, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said it was an "extremely difficult decision" to halt the rescue efforts after two weeks of searching as the death toll rose to 54.
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"At this point, we have truly exhausted every option available to us in the search and rescue mission," Levine Cava said.
Officials announced Wednesday morning that 10 additional bodies had been discovered with eight more found by the evening and as many as 94 people unaccounted for and believed to be lost in the debris of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla.
Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Ray Jadallah held a private briefing with families Wednesday afternoon where he informed them rescue dogs and sound devices would be removed but emergency crews would continue to search the rubble for the remains of their relatives.
"Our sole responsibility at this point is to bring closure," he said.
A group of more than 200 rescuers has been working almost continuously to find victims and survivors since the building partially collapsed on June 24 but earlier Wednesday crews said they were seeing no signs of survivors.
"Unfortunately, we're not seeing anything positive that continues in that sense -- void space, livable spaces -- you know, we're not coming across that," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said, according to WPLG-TV.
Crews had been working all week and hoping to find anyone alive in the debris, even through the threat of Tropical Storm Elsa, which missed South Florida and made landfall near the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday.
Strong wind gusts and rolling thunderstorms from Elsa's outer bands, still, have affected the search. Crews have had to pause their work several times due to lightning.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Tuesday that strong gusts had slowed large cranes that have been moving heavy concrete at the site. Officials said more than 120 tons have been moved so far.