Post by moni on Jun 26, 2021 10:04:03 GMT
'There's so many people waiting': At least 4 dead, 159 unaccounted for in Florida building collapse
SURFSIDE, Fla. – A burning electrical smell filled the air and photos of missing people hung on a fence Friday night near the rubble of a 12-story beachfront condominium building that collapsed just north of Miami early Thursday morning. Nearly 160 people are still unaccounted for and at least four are dead.
Thick smoke coming from the remains of Champlain Towers South darkened the sky and made it difficult to breathe. Officials said a fire continued to burn underneath the rubble, despite efforts to put it out.
Thick smoke coming from the remains of Champlain Towers South darkened the sky and made it difficult to breathe. Officials said a fire continued to burn underneath the rubble, despite efforts to put it out.
At a Friday night press conference, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said there had been no change in the number of missing people, but rescuers remained hopeful survivors could be found. Levine Cava said rescuers were encouraged to hear "knocking sounds" and that people have been found alive more than a week after similar collapses.
"We are still working. We are working around the clock, and we have hope," Levine Cava said.
A wing of the residential building in Surfside, Florida, came down with a roar around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. On video footage captured from nearby, the center of the building appeared to fall first, with a section nearest the ocean teetering and coming down seconds later as a huge dust cloud swallowed the neighborhood.
A wing of the residential building in Surfside, Florida, came down with a roar around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. On video footage captured from nearby, the center of the building appeared to fall first, with a section nearest the ocean teetering and coming down seconds later as a huge dust cloud swallowed the neighborhood.
Some major developments:
►127 people have been accounted for, 159 are unaccounted for and four are dead, Levine Cava said.
►Surfside's building official said Friday he was on the roof of the Champlain Towers South 14 hours before it collapsed and said there was "no inordinate amount of equipment or materials" that would cause the building to collapse.
►Relatives issued a statement identifying one of the deceased as Stacie Fang. Her son, Jonah Handler, was rescued from the rubble hours after the collapse.
►Rescues crews encountered the three additional deaths while working overnight, Miami-Dade Fire official Raide Jadallah said. Rescuers are using light machinery to tunnel through the rubble underneath, and crews have heard sounds, though it's unclear what they were, he said.
►Gov. Ron DeSantis said he spoke Friday with Biden about the ongoing search and rescue effort and called for a "definitive explanation" as to what caused the collapse. He said at the moment the focus is still on the possibility that survivors could be found.
►Biden declared a state of emergency authorizing funding and other disaster relief to Surfside. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was sending support, Levine Cava said.
►127 people have been accounted for, 159 are unaccounted for and four are dead, Levine Cava said.
►Surfside's building official said Friday he was on the roof of the Champlain Towers South 14 hours before it collapsed and said there was "no inordinate amount of equipment or materials" that would cause the building to collapse.
►Relatives issued a statement identifying one of the deceased as Stacie Fang. Her son, Jonah Handler, was rescued from the rubble hours after the collapse.
►Rescues crews encountered the three additional deaths while working overnight, Miami-Dade Fire official Raide Jadallah said. Rescuers are using light machinery to tunnel through the rubble underneath, and crews have heard sounds, though it's unclear what they were, he said.
►Gov. Ron DeSantis said he spoke Friday with Biden about the ongoing search and rescue effort and called for a "definitive explanation" as to what caused the collapse. He said at the moment the focus is still on the possibility that survivors could be found.
►Biden declared a state of emergency authorizing funding and other disaster relief to Surfside. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was sending support, Levine Cava said.
►The first lawsuit, seeking $5 million in damages for the victims of the condo collapse, was filed late Thursday. The lawyer who represents the owners of Champlain Towers South blasted it as "despicable," saying the board's Vice President remains missing.
►A study published in 2020 found the building was sinking at a rate of about 2 millimeters a year in the 1990s.
►A study published in 2020 found the building was sinking at a rate of about 2 millimeters a year in the 1990s.
If you are interested to read the whole article, or follow up on what's happening, there is the link:
