As the Biden motorcade reaches Miami International Airport for the journey home, we're wrapping up our live coverage for the day. Here's a recap of what's happened:

• President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have met families of the victims and missing from the collapse, telling them to “never give up hope”, and saying he still believes survivors can be found
• The search and rescue mission has been temporarily halted over fears that debris from the remaining structure could collapse on rescue workers
• The death toll from the disaster has risen to 18 after the bodies of two children were found in the rubble. Some 145 people remain missing
• A woman's voice was heard during initial rescue efforts but has since fallen silent, officials say

Today's live page was written by Thomas Poole, Alice Cuddy, Gary Kitchener Hugo Bachega, Max Matza, Toby Luckhurst and Jack Hunter.

Fears that huge chunks of debris could fall on rescuers forced officials to halt the search for survivors in the early hours of Thursday, rescue leaders say.

As darkness fell, rescue teams spotted dangerous shifts in the remaining structure, prompting concerns that pieces of concrete could fall on them at any moment, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky says.

They were worried about a large concrete column hanging over an undergound car park and growing cracks in a slab on the building's side, he says.

Moments later, the teams were told to temporarily halt the rescue mission.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

The president Biden and first lady have stopped to pay their respects at a photo wall commemorating the victims and missing near the site of the disaster.

They spent several minutes walking around the Surfside Wall of Hope and Memorial, just a few blocks from where the building collapsed.

Jill Biden laid a bouquet of white flowers next to a crayon drawing that read “I love you.”

The couple paused, holding hands, before getting back in the car, and the presidential motorcade rolled on.

A video apparently taken minutes before the apartment block collapsed appears to show water leaking in the building's underground garage, NBC News reports., external

A woman staying across the street from the block posted the video to TikTok with a caption in Spanish: “The basement was the first part to collapse."

It's also emerged that a 2018 inspection raised concerns about design flaws in the Champlain Towers South's structure - highlighting "abundant cracking… of columns, beams and walls" in the basement parking garage.

Read more about what might have caused the collapse here.

Eight days after the Champlain Towers South fell to the ground, officials are still searching for answers about what might have caused the 40-year-old block's sudden collapse.

Experts gathering information at the scene are considering a range of possible causes - from structural defects to environmental influences - and whether a combination of factors may have triggered the fall.

We've pieced together what we know so far about how and why the collapse happened, including past warnings about the building's structural defects, and how land movement might have been causing the block to sink.

The president - who is currently seeking to pass a huge spending bill that he says will tackle climate change - sought to raise a possible link between the oceanfront tower block collapse and global warming.

He began by discussing “rational speculation” about what caused the tragedy, mentioning rusted rebar, or the quality of the cement.

He continued: “Interesting to me - I didn’t raise it - how many of the survivors, how many of the families talked about the impact of global warming.

“How much, they knew exactly, they talked about sea levels rising and about how the combination, the concern about incoming storms.

“But I don’t think there is at this point any definitive judgement as to why it collapsed.”

On Tuesday, Biden's Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN she didn't rule out climate change as a cause. She was accused of politicising the tragedy.

Image source, Reuters

President Biden says meeting families of the victims brought back memories of his own experience of grief.

"It just brought back so many memories of losing someone," he says.

"When the accident took my wife and my boys the hardest part was not knowing," referring to the car crash that killed his first wife and daughter.

"I walked away impressed by their strength."

He says he still believed survivors of the disaster could be found.

"There is still a possibility that someone could be alive, that someone is breathing."

Biden says the "whole nation is in mourning" with the families of the victims of the building that collapsed in Miami.

He says he spent a lot of time talking to the families, and mentions one woman who had lost her husband and baby boy and "didn't know what to do". He also cites another family who had lost "cousins, brothers, sisters".

"They're praying and pleading that 'God, let there be a miracle'," he said.

"They had basic, heart-wrenching questions: Will I be able to recover the body of my son or daughter, my husband, my cousin, my mum and dad? How can I have closure without being able to bury them if I don't get the body?"

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

President Biden says he is "holding out hope" that survivors of the disaster can be found.

He pledges federal aid to help house the survivors of the collapse.

He says he sat and spoke for some time with the relatives, whom he describes as "such incredible people".

"They're going through hell," he says.

"I do have an idea... what it is to suffer that kind of loss that so many of them are suffering."

"We are with them, and the country's with them.

"Our message today is that we are here for you - as one nation, as a whole nation."

He adds: ”Hope springs eternal."

President Biden, a Democrat, begins his public remarks by thanking Governor DeSantis and Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, all Republicans.

"We have all been working in tandem from the moment we got the news of the collapse of the building," he says of local and federal authorities.

President Biden has told families and friends of the missing to "never give up hope".

Addressing relatives in a private meeting, Mr Biden has drawn on his own experience of grief as he offered his prayers and support.

“I just wish there was something I could do to ease the pain,” he told them, a video posted on Instagram by one of those affected shows.

The clip shows the president speaking in sombre tones about the death of his wife and daughter in a car accident.

“The waiting, the waiting, is unbearable,” he says.

He tells them it can be “harder to grieve in public than it is in private, so I know there’s an extra burden on you all”.

“But I promise you: I still believe in prayer,” he says. “You’re in my prayers.”

President Biden is due to speak soon after visiting the collapsed apartment block in Miami.

He met earlier with local officials, rescuers, and the families of victims and missing persons.

You can watch highlights of his trip here

President Biden is due to deliver some public remarks after meeting with the families of the victims and the missing.

Pablo Rodríguez's mother and grandmother were in Champlain Towers South when it collapsed. He spoke to the BBC about how he has lost hope that they survived, and his demand for answers in the wake of the disaster.

Image source, Reuters

Authorities are inspecting the rubble now to know when it is safe to resume the search.

International teams have been in Miami to help the rescuers, who say they remain hopeful they will find more survivors at the site.

Close to 150 people remain missing after Champlain Towers south block collapsed in Surfside, north of Miami, last week. The confirmed death toll rose to 18 on Wednesday, after rescuers found the bodies of two children.

Among those still missing are a devoted grandmother, a beloved teacher and the sister of Paraguay's first lady.

You can read more about the victims and the missing here

President Biden is meeting privately with the families of the victims and the missing in Surfside.

CNN reporter Kevin Liptak tweeted that Biden gave "very personal remarks" in the centre of the room, discussing the deaths of his wife, daughter and son. His comments were also translated into Spanish, a reminder of the multicultural make-up of the tower.

Biden then went from table to table to speak to families.

According to a White House official, the president stayed "until everyone had a chance to speak with him".

Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Washington

Biden has suffered his own losses, and this morning he looked over at me and several other reporters on the White House South Lawn, as if he wanted to say something.

Then he strode across the grass, so he could spend more time with the men and women in Florida who have lost loved ones.

Unlike many people, and some former presidents, he is comfortable talking about grief, and doesn’t run from it.

His trip to Florida is an important one, giving him a chance to help people mourn.

Image source, Getty Images

We are waiting to hear from President Biden but the tragedy has also put the spotlight on another politician, Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis

DeSantis has become one of the fastest-rising Republicans in national politics, something some say may soon lead to a run for the White House.

The Harvard and Yale educated former congressman was elected governor in 2018, after Donald Trump's endorsement helped him beat a more moderate Republican.

As his profile has grown, watchers say he may seek to unseat President Biden in 2024 - that is if he can get through Trump first. The former president, who remains extremely influential over the party, is also considering a bid for a second term.

In a meeting earlier today with Mr Biden, the focus very much was on bipartisanship, and efforts on the ground.

"You’ve been very supportive,” Mr DeSantis said, praising Mr Biden and the federal government's response to the collapse.

Angelica Casas
BBC News

The streets here in Surfside are not any quieter today, a week after the Champlain Towers South collapse. But they are more tense as search and rescue efforts are halted because of safety concerns regarding part of the structure that’s still standing.

That’s the last thing families still waiting for news of their loved ones want to hear, especially when every second counts.

Just this morning, Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky reported that rescue teams had heard the voice of a woman trapped in the rubble. Crews heard her voice for several hours but could not get to her - and then she could no longer be heard.

Pablo Rodriguez, whose mother and grandmother were both in the building when it collapsed, no longer believes they will be found alive. But he wants their remains to be found for closure.

“We're hoping that at least we can have a proper burial and go through the whole grieving process.”

It is not yet clear when the search operations will continue.

People have been leaving flowers, candles and pictures of the dead and missing at a makeshift memorial a few blocks from the site of the disaster.

Family members have been gathering for vigils and prayers at the memorial wall, where photos of the missing hang. Almost 150 people remain missing after the collapse, with 18 confirmed dead.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Through his visit to Florida and meetings with families affected by the disaster, Joe Biden is assuming the role of “consoler-in-chief”.

The term is used to describe the role of the US president - also known as the commander-in-chief - in providing solace after a national tragedy.

One of the most famous examples is Ronald Reagan's speech honouring the astronauts who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986.

Others include George W Bush visiting the rubble of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks, and Barack Obama leading mourners through a rendition of Amazing Grace following a mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Biden has also already assumed this role as president. Earlier this year, he addressed the nation as the US passed the figure of 500,000 Covid-related deaths and held a candle-lighting ceremony.