"Our purpose is to get the first responder to understand, where exactly is he digging?" he said. Vach's team has consulted with the families to get the best idea of where their relatives might have been within their apartments at the time the building collapsed. "We are looking for the bedrooms because people were sleeping," said Vach, wearing a religious skullcap and army green uniform with an Israeli flag patch on one sleeve. The team then carefully replicated the manner in which the tower appeared to have collapsed, aiming to understand how to excavate the site with the highest probability of finding survivors. To prepare for the operation, Vach said the teams studied the structure of Champlain Tower South while still in Israel and built 3D models of the 40-year-old high-rise. Several families had expressed hope the Israeli team, renowned for skills honed during rescue operations at buildings damaged by warfare, would join the frantic search for survivors. More than two dozen of the 150 unaccounted for were Jewish and had links to Israel, according to an Israeli official. Joining forces with the hundreds of American first responders and a team of Mexican rescuers, the Israelis have spent every waking hour either sifting through the four-story pile of debris or meeting with the families of the missing, with two- to three-hour breaks for sleep, Vach said. "It's one of the most difficult and complicated situations that I've ever seen," Vach, who has commanded his unit for four years, said on Tuesday. In it, they hoped to find and rescue dozens of missing people in the rubble. Once at the site, they found a massive heap of fragmented concrete and mangled metal, with children's toys and other personal belongings strewn about. Vach's team, the National Rescue Unit, arrived in Miami early on Sunday, three days after Champlain Tower South partially collapsed without warning while people slept early on Thursday. The salute involved the Fire Rescue team showering the plane with its hoses.SURFSIDE, Fla., June 29 (Reuters) - Colonel Golan Vach, head of a unit of the Israel Defense Forces that specializes in search and rescue operations, had never seen a disaster zone like the crumbled condo building in Surfside, Florida, in his more than 20 years of military experience. On Sunday, as the final members of the Israeli team departed, their El Al airplane was given a “water salute” by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. “The world came to help #Surfside, and tonight we gave thanks” you #IDF □□ #Surfside #SurfsideStrong /CZQ1fOYjJF They then walked down a street flanked by other rescue workers while people sang “Ani Maamin,” a traditional Jewish song affirming faith in redemption from difficult times. The team received medals and gifted the officials with an Israeli flag in return. The seven-person team from the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command, which arrived in Surfside three days after Champlain Towers collapsed last month, received thanks from Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and other local officials in a ceremony Saturday, according to The Times of Israel. ( JTA) - The Israeli military team that assisted in the search and rescue operation at the collapsed building in Surfside, Florida left on Saturday after received salutes and awards for their work.
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