Chances of finding survivors in collapsed Miami apartment building dwindle

A beachfront condominium building partially collapsed outside Miami on Thursday, killing at least one person and trapping others in the tower that remained standing.. Dozens of people were rescued, as rescuers continued to desperately search the rubble for other survivors.

One wing of the 12-story building collapsed with a roar around 1:30 a.m. As of late afternoon, nearly 100 people were still missing, authorities said. raising fears of a sharp increase in the number of deaths. Authorities were not sure how many were in the tower when it fell.

Former Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Dave Downey explained to CNN how first responders search for survivors.

“Now they are immersed in what we call the search for emptiness. So what they do is systematically scour the rubble pile for any sign of life.“said Downey.

The former firefighter said first responders are using dogs, cameras that can enter holes and special sound equipment to listen to noises under the rubble of possible people with lives.

“We have a part of a building that did not collapse, that has no support. There is a lot of debris hanging from the building without support. Therefore, rescuers are in great danger in some of the areas they are working on so it has to be a very methodical process said Downey.

“The building is literally sunk,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. “It’s heartbreaking because it means we’re not going to be as successful as we would like to find living people.”

Hours after the collapse, researchers were trying to reach a trapped child whose parents were believed to have died.. In another case, rescuers saved a mother and her child, but the woman’s leg had to be amputated to remove it from the rubble, he told the Miami Herald Frank Rollason, director of emergency management at Miami-Dade.

The video showed firefighters pulling a child out of the wreckage, but it was unclear if this was the same person Rollason mentioned. The teams were trying to enter the building from a parking lot located under the structure.

Governor Ron DeSantis, who visited the scene, said the images shown on television did not capture the magnitude of what happened.

Rescuers “are doing all they can to save lives. It is underway and they are not going to rest, ”he said.

Teams of 10 to 12 rescuers entered the rubble with dogs and other equipment, working until exhaustion. to make way for a new group of rescuers, said Jimmy Patronis, the state fire chief.

Patronis said he was deeply moved by the image of a bed near the now exposed top of the building.

“Someone was probably sleeping on it“, He said.

Authorities have not said what may have caused the collapse. In video images captured nearby, the center of the building seemed to fall first, with a section closer to the sea reeling and sinking seconds later as a huge cloud of dust engulfed the neighborhood.

Work was underway on the building’s roof, but Burkett said he didn’t see how that could have been the cause.

President Joe Biden has pledged to provide federal assistance upon request.

Hotels have been opened for some displaced residentsthe mayor said, and deliveries of food, medicine and more were being organized in a hurry.

About half of the building’s 130 dwellings have been affectedYes, the mayor said at a press conference. Rescue teams pulled at least 35 people out of the rubble by mid-morning and heavy equipment was brought in to help stabilize the structure and provide better access, said Raide Jadallah of Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue.

The tower has a mix of seasonal and year-round residents, sinceAlthough the building maintains a guest register, it does not keep track of when the owners are in residenceBurkett said.

Fortuna Smukler posted an article about the disaster on Facebook, hoping someone would know the whereabouts of Myriam Caspi Notkin and Arnie Notkin, an elderly couple who lived on the third floor.

Arnie Notkin spent years teaching physical education at a local elementary schoolsaid Smukler, a North Miami Beach commissioner who is friends with Myriam Notkin’s daughters.

“It would be a miracle if they were found alive,” he added.

Nicolás Fernández spent hours after the collapse trying to call two friends who were staying in the building with their little girl.. The family had come to the United States to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak in their home country of Argentina, Fernández said.

“The hope is that maybe someone will hear the call. I know there are dogs inside, “he said.” I know what I’m saying might sound silly, but there’s always hope until we hear it. something different.”

A total of 22 South Americans disappeared in the collapse: nine from Argentina, six from Paraguay, four from Venezuela and three from Uruguay, according to officials in these countries.

The collapse, which appears to affect an L-shaped leg of the tower, tore walls and opened up apartments in the part of the building that is still standing. TV footage showed beds, tables and chairs inside. Air conditioners hung from parts of the building, where cables hung.

Barry Cohen, 63, said he and his wife were sleeping in the building when he first heard what he thought was thunder. The couple stepped out onto their balcony, then opened the door to the hallway of the building and found “a pile of swollen debris, dust and smoke.”

“He couldn’t get through my door,” said Cohen, a former deputy mayor of Surfside.

Surfside City Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer told WPLG the county-mandated 40-year recertification process is underway.. Salzhauer said the process is moving smoothly. A home inspector was on the scene Wednesday.

“I want to know why this happened,” Salzhauer said. “This is really the only question. … And can it happen again? Are other buildings in the city in danger?

The complex Champlain towers It was built in 1981 and is located on the district of Surf side, at North Miami, Florida. The condo has a panoramic view of the ocean and is in a privileged area due to its strategic location. He had a few two-bedroom units on the market, with selling prices ranging from $ 600,000 to $ 700,000.

The area has a mix of old and new apartments, houses, condos, and hotels, with restaurants and shops serving an international mix of residents and tourists.. The main street along the ocean is lined with luxury condominiums with glass walls, but the more modest homes are on the interior side.

(With AP information)

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