A search-and-rescue expert at the Florida condo's collapse site says he no longer believes survivors are in the rubble
- Israeli Col. Golan Vach's team is aiding search-and-rescue efforts at the Surfside condo collapse.
- He told Local 10 on Sunday afternoon that he no longer believed survivors were in the rubble.
- Twenty-four people are confirmed dead in the collapse, and 121 are unaccounted for.
A search-and-rescue operations expert working at the site of the Surfside, Florida, condo collapse said Sunday afternoon that he no longer believed survivors were in the rubble.
Israeli Col. Golan Vach and his team arrived in Florida three days after Champlain Towers South partially collapsed on June 24, leaving 24 dead and 121 unaccounted for.
Vach's team has been working with hundreds of American first responders and a team of Mexican rescuers to comb through the debris for anyone who might have survived the collapse.
In an interview with Local 10 on Sunday afternoon, Vach said that his technicians were flying home to Israeli on Monday and that he no longer believed there was hope of finding any additional survivors.
"I believe right now that the chances are close to zero, unfortunately," Vach said.
"The circumstances we saw in the last few days are too difficult for me to say professionally that I believe there is a solid chance to find somebody alive."
Vach and some of his fellow experts plan to stay in Miami through Thursday to help the teams there recalibrate the search efforts after the rest of the building was demolished Sunday night, Local 10 reported.
He said the experience had been trying for his team.
"We are going through this difficult time together," he said.
"We talk every night," he continued, adding: "Sometimes we cry. It's natural, but we are tough guys. This is our job, and we will do it as best as we can."