a major football final for the first time in more than half a century. it is now 4:00 a.m. in surfside, florida where authorities have made the decision everyone knew was coming but no one wanted to hear. the search for survivors in that deadly condominium collapse is now in the recovery phase. search crews paused for a moment of silence after the news was announced. 86 people are listed as potentially unaccounted for. our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. the crowd united in prayer for the victims and their loved ones. leyla santiago has a report.
heartbreaking news for the loved ones of those still missing in that south florida condo collapse. 54 bodies have been recovered so far. 86 people are potentially unaccounted for. search crews paused for a moment of silence on wednesday. officials say it was devastating to have to tell families and friends the mission was shifting to a recovery operation. but they say work at the site will proceed at the same speed and intensity. cnn s rosa flores is coffering the condo collapse in surfside, florida. she has more now on what prompted the shift in strategy. reporter: officials here said that they looked at the facts. the sound equipment that they were using no longer brought back any sounds. the k-9s were not detect anything sounds. we also looked at the physical limits of the human being, the amount of time someone can survive without water, air, food, that sort of thing.
reporter: after 14 tireless days, the search and rescue effort in surfside shifting to a search and recovery effort. a moment of silence held by rescue teams before the transition. this decision was not an easy one. as our hearts still hoped to find survivors. but our experience and expertise indicated that waysys was no longer possible. reporter: families informed at their daily briefing as bodies are more quickly being discovered now that the debris field has opened up, officials say it is the right time to make the transition. this decision was not based on any other reasons except on facts that emerged during the extent of the search and the rescue operation. reporter: several survivors of the collapse revisiting the site of the debris today. families being assured the recovery effort will not slow down. the only thing that changes