Newsman: At least three people are dead and as many as 99 are unaccounted for after a 12-story residential building the ‘Champlain Towers’ partially collapsed in Miami-Dade County, Florida, as of early Thursday, according to the county official. But it is still unclear exactly how many residents are missing. The oceanfront condominium has 136 units, and approximately 55 of them collapsed along the northeast corridor, according to Jadallah. And the unaffected section of the complex was cleared as of 8 a.m., the official said.
President Joe Biden said he spoke with the mayor of Miami-Dade, as well as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Biden said he was waiting on the governor to ask for an emergency declaration, but he is “ready to move from the federal resources immediately, immediately, if in fact we’re asked for it.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis toured the site Thursday afternoon, telling reporters it was “traumatic to see.”
“The TV doesn’t do it justice,” he said after touring the wreckage. “It is really, really dramatic to see the collapse of a major structure like that.”
“It’s a tragic day,” DeSantis said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. “We still have hope to be able to identify additional survivors.”
The governor declared a state of emergency in the county Thursday evening “to provide assistance for the families impacted by the Surfside tragedy,” according to the order. He said the Red Cross was setting up displaced residents in hotels, adding that finding answers as to why the building collapsed would take time.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett called the collapse a “catastrophe.” Mayor, told reporters that the condominium was built in the 1980s and was believed to be substantially full at the time of the partial collapse. The building was undergoing roof work, he said. Some 15 families escaped the building on their own and were put up in a local hotel, according to Burkett.
A massive search and rescue operation was launched before dawn and crews are still carefully combing through the wreckage and remaining structure in hopes of finding survivors. Crews have rescued 35 people who were trapped in the building and two others from beneath the rubble, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah. Officials said 102 people have been accounted for. Responders have not heard any voices coming from the pile, though have picked up “a possibility of a banging,” according to Jadallah.
“This process is slow and methodical,” Jadallah told reporters during a late afternoon press briefing. “Every time there’s a shift in the rubble, we have additional rubble that shifts on us.”
Footage from the scene showed firefighters pulling a boy from the rubble alive and rescuing others from still-standing balconies.
Jadallah told reporters that at least 45 people, including those who were rescued, were medically assessed and treated on site. Aventura Hospital and Medical Center said it’s received three patients — two with critical injuries, one in fair condition — and Jackson Health System said it has two patients.
According to Miami-Dade county official, it’s been difficult determining how many people were in that section of the complex partly because there isn’t an on-scene management company that keeps track. The condominium is a mix of full-time residents, seasonal residents, renters and short-term visitors, so authorities have been relying largely on neighbors and word of mouth.
Teams of firefighters have been cutting through the rubble and placing sonar devices as part of the search efforts.
The collapse of the Champlain Towers was reported around 1:30 a.m. So far. The Champlain Towers South condominium is in the small, beachside town of Surfs ide, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told reporters, a substantial number” of the buildings residents are foreigners, according to.
The Foreign Ministry of Paraguay said six Paraguayan nationals were in the building and still missing: Sophia López-Moreira, the sister of the country’s first lady; her husband, Luis Pettengill; their three children; and their nanny, Lady Luna Villalba. President Mario Abdo Benítez canceled his events due to the incident.
Argentina’s Miami consulate said nine Argentine nationals are missing; Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.S. confirmed four Venezuelan nationals are missing; and Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry said three Uruguayan nationals have been affected, though their status is unclear. Colombia’s Foreign Ministry also reported that six Colombian nationals resided in the building and officials are still trying to determine whether they were there at the time of the collapse.
Soriya Cohen’s husband, Brad Cohen, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon, and her brother-in-law, Gary Cohen, a doctor visiting from Alabama, both are missing. Soriya Cohen said they haven’t been answering their phones and she’s in shock.
Gabe Nir, who lives in Champlain Tower South with his mother and sister, told ABC News that they ran from the building when they heard the collapse.
Nir said he felt a second, more intense collapse, and said they ran for their lives as a thick cloud of white dust enveloped them, making it hard to breathe. Nir, who compared the collapse to an earthquake, said he’s grateful to be alive.
“Our goal is to provide a thorough investigation and closure for our families,” Freddy Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, told reporters Thursday morning.
Anyone with family members from the condominium who are either safe or still missing is urged to call 305-614-1819 to account for them.
