The hardest thing to lose is hope, especially in a situation like that in Surfside, Florida, where a 12-story condominium collapsed on June 24. The families of those missing have been hoping against hope that their loved ones somehow have managed to find some space and survive. But recovery officials have come to the conclusion that there’s little chance of finding more survivors, and the operation has turned from search and rescue to recovery.

The searchers continue to find bodies of people, most of whom were asleep in bed when the collapse occured. Fifty-four bodies have been recovered, and 86 are still unaccounted for.

We cannot understand the full weight of the grief those families must be going through. We can only mourn with them as they wait for their loved ones to be found and returned to them. The search may take weeks.

Eventually, the focus must turn to the cause of this collapse. There were complaints about water leaks and cracks in the past couple of years. Should they have triggered more studies, more warnings? Why wasn’t the building declared unsafe?

This terrible tragedy has at least caused thorough inspections of similar buildings in Florida. Such a terrible accident must never be allowed to happen again.