Officials had evacuated residents around the site ahead of the demolition and warned others to stay indoors and close windows, doors and any other openings that could allow dust in.

So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing. No one has been rescued alive since the first hours after the June 24 collapse, but officials have pledged to keep looking despite the dwindling chance of finding survivors.

“There’s nobody in charge really talking about stopping this rescue effort,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “This rescue effort as far as I’m concerned will go on until everybody is pulled out of that debris.”

Concerns had mounted that the damaged building was at risk of falling on its own. The approach of Tropical Storm Elsa added urgency to the demolition project. With the entire building down, rescuers hoped to have access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest.

Jadallah said suspending the search effort was necessary during the drilling work ahead of the demolition because it could cause the structure to fail. Once the structure is gone and its remnants cleared, rescuers should have access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Jadallah has said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors.

State officials said they hired the BG Group, a general contractor based in Delray, Florida, to lead the demolition.

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A spokesperson for the state’s Division of Emergency Management said the company is subcontracting with Maryland-based Controlled Demolition Inc, which experts say is among only a handful of companies in the US that demolishes structures using explosives. The company was supposed to place explosives on the basement and lobby levels of the still-standing structure, according to the contract for the work.

The detonation aimed to bring the remaining portion of the building straight down and toward the street side, away from the existing pile of debris, Jadallah said.

The method of demolition is called “energetic felling,” which uses small detonation devices and relies on the force of gravity. It was expected to bring the building down in place, containing the collapse to the immediate surroundings.

AP

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