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CLEARWATER, Fla. — The 23-year-old construction worker’s body buried in the rubble of Monday’s parking garage stairwell collapse has been found, Clearwater Fire & Rescue confirms.

The recovery happened around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Recovery efforts over the last two days were slowed by bad weather and the building being unstable, according to firefighters.

A 23-year-old construction worker is the man presumed dead in the rubble of Monday's parking garage stairwell collapse, Clearwater Fire & Rescue Division Chief John Klinefelter told reporters Tuesday.

Klinefelter did not name the man and asked for privacy for the individual's family, as recovery efforts continue.

As of Tuesday morning, the structure was still too unstable for firefighters to just begin searching for the man through traditional means.

"Our goal here is to prevent any secondary collapses," Klinefelter said. "The stairway is still very unstable."

Four structural engineers have been on scene since the collapse and are providing insight to help emergency crews formulate a plan. 

While strong storms complicated efforts Tuesday morning, contractors have still been making progress with regard to preparations – as they focus on trying to stabilize the ground prior to any entry.

"When the weather started coming in, it definitely slowed down some of our operations," Klinefelter added.

A key piece of the recovery effort will involve a large excavator that is being hauled in from Central Florida. This particular one is an enormous piece of equipment not available in Pinellas County. It is expected to arrive by mid-afternoon.

The giant excavator, and its skilled operators, will begin removing football-sized pieces of debris. They will start from the top of the parking structure and work their way down, which Klinefelter explained was the safest way to proceed.

In preparation for the large machine, some trees have been taken down; a light pole is being removed with the help of Duke Energy. Once enough debris is removed by the excavator and the structure is deemed safe to enter, the Pinellas County Technical Rescue Team will go in and attempt to recover the worker who they fear is dead.

Stairwell dismantlement in progress - it's been loud the past hour. The excavator has to take the whole stairwell down before crews can safely recover the worker presumed dead. We'll update this article as needed: https://t.co/aQ1HMF8keu pic.twitter.com/J2kTH9jYMG

It is currently unclear how long the recovery effort will take. One other construction worker, who was there at the time, survived.

Right now, the firefighters are solely focused on recovery. Meanwhile, police will work with experts to try to determine what caused the collapse in the first place.

Fire Chief Klinefelter said the parking garage structure is separate from the main structure. 

"It’s unsafe for us to put any rescuers, contractors, or anybody in there to move this forward any faster than we do we already are," Klinefelter said.

Greg Batista, PE; a structural engineer, gave insight as to what may have caused the collapse with the stairwell structure separate from the main garage. He specializes in Construction Management, MEP and Structural Engineering and Design, Green Design and Engineering, Concrete Restoration and Repair, Design-Build, and Forensic Engineering.

“They are all welded together, the different precast panels," Batista said. "The welds are an area where, if they start to rust then the building could be susceptible to collapse.“

Batista said the investigation into the permits and inspections will be telling, but most of the time, these collapses are avoidable. 

“I would say a large portion of these mishaps and collapses that happen are because of a lack of maintenance," Batista said.

Representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on hand and speaking with officials in the hours after the tragedy. Clearwater's building department is reviewing garage inspection records.

In the meantime, the entire parking garage, which is owned by Plymouth LLC, remains closed to the public.

A spokesperson for Plymouth LLC, Zev Freidus, released the following statement in response to the parking garage stairwell collapse.

"Let me start by saying that we are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic death of the young construction worker. No words can compensate for his loss. Our hearts and sincere sympathy go out to his friends and family.

We will thoroughly investigate the situation and events leading to this accident.

Respectfully, we will refrain from making further comments until we have a greater understanding of what happened. Thank you for your courtesy and cooperation."

The four-story structure on Enterprise Road is adjacent to an administrative building of the nonprofit Tampa Bay Water, which supplies wholesale drinking water to much of the region. None of the organization's employees were injured.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the construction workers and their families as emergency managers respond,” Tampa Bay Water General Manager Chuck Carden said Monday.

Employees from at least two businesses had cars in the garage at the time, according to local leaders. All drivers – except the ones whose cars are parked closest to the stairwell that collapsed – will be allowed to retrieve their cars at some point, Klinefelter said. They will be getting guidance from officials.

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