The death toll from the overnight collapse of a 12-story building near Miami Beach is likely to rise, and authorities say all survivors have already been rescued.
So far the death of one person has been confirmed. Governor Ron DeSantis, who is addressing the scene, said he was “preparing for the bad news.”
In a press conference at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, Miami-Dade officials said rescuers were stabilizing the building so they could continue working. They said they did not know how many people were missing and that search and rescue work was continuing.
Officials stopped the press conference due to lightning and moved it to another location.
Frank Rollason, Miami-Dade’s director of Emergency Management, told The Miami Herald that emergency workers believe they have removed all survivors from inside the tower, which has more than 130 apartments. He said that more than 70 of them have been destroyed or damaged.
“Everyone who is alive is outside the building,” he said.
BREAKING: Multi-level building collapse reported in Surfside, Florida. Multiple emergency agency's responding. #miami
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) June 24, 2021
The waterfront portion of the Champlain Towers South Condo, completed in 1981 with more than 100 units at 8777 Collins Ave., collapsed around 2 a.m., leaving a pile of debris.
Rescue workers with ladder trucks and search dogs have been searching the rubble for survivors.
They had to amputate a woman’s leg to remove it, Rollason told the Miami Herald.
Governor Ron DeSantis said he will address the scene.
“It’s a really, really tragic situation, and we hope for the best in terms of additional recoveries,” he said. “But we are preparing for the bad news.”
A hotline has been established to inform family members of the missing by calling 305-614-1819.
JUST IN: 7News has obtained surveillance video of the moment the Champlain Towers South Condo collapsed in Surfside early this morning.
According to a fire official, 35 people were pulled from the collapsed building. Search and rescue efforts ongoing. https://t.co/Ac7KgnJOSO pic.twitter.com/oeczbumRG9
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) June 24, 2021
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the building manager told him the building was nearly full.
“The building is literally sunk,” Burkett told a news conference. “That is heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean to me that we are going to be as successful as we would like in finding living people.”
The Miami-Dade Fire Department said there were 55 units in the collapsed part of the building. They took 35 people out of the building, 10 were treated at the scene and two were hospitalized.
“We were fast asleep and heard a strange noise that woke us up in the middle of the night,” said Ofi Osin-Cohen, who lives on the third floor. “It may have been thunder, but it didn’t look like thunder. And I said what is happening? It is raining? We looked outside and I saw a column of smoke rise. “
BREAKING: Multi-level building collapse reported in Surfside, Florida. Multiple emergency agency's responding. #miami
88th and Collins. pic.twitter.com/Di3NfoBB2R— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) June 24, 2021
“And I said to my husband: ‘Take some things, your wallet, your phone, your charger, we have to get out of here.’
They opened the door to their apartment and saw the hallway blocked by debris. They went down a different hall and found an exit door that wouldn’t open. The garage level was full of water.
“There were two older people there that we took with us and we said, ‘Let’s go back to our apartment. We can go to the balcony. They will rescue us from the balcony. ” We live on the third floor. We lived on the third floor. So we did that. We let the firefighters know that the building was not passable, we needed to get out and we needed them to rescue us. “
BREAKING: NEW FOOTAGE: Multi-level building collapse reported in Surfside, Florida. Multiple emergency agency's responding. #miami
88th and Collins.— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) June 24, 2021
HAPPENING NOW: Firefighters are rescuing people from balconies of Champlain Towers. Building near 88th and Collins partially collapsed overnight.
pic.twitter.com/qzDOW845No— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) June 24, 2021