MIAMI, June 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 12-storey oceanfront apartment block in Florida partially collapsed early Thursday, killing at least one person and injuring at least 10 as it sparked a major emergency response with dozens of rescuers combing the rubble for survivors.
Video footage posted online showed a large portion of the building in the town of Surfside – just north of Miami Beach – reduced to rubble, with the apartments’ interiors exposed.
It was unclear how many people lived in the building or who had been inside at the time. Some residents were able to walk down the stairs to safety while others had to be rescued from their balconies.
At least one person has been confirmed dead, Surfside mayor Charles Burkett said.
“My police chief has told me that we transported two people to the hospital this morning at least, and one has died. We treated 10 people on the site,” Burkett said.Advertisement
He said dogs were helping in the search for survivors but “tragically” had not found anyone yet. “Apparently when the building came down it pancaked, so there’s just not a lot of voids that they’re finding or seeing from the outside.”
He added that it was not clear how many people had been inside, or why the building collapsed. “It looks like a bomb went off, but we’re pretty sure a bomb didn’t go off, so it’s something else.”
Dozens of people were evacuated from the building and from a nearby hotel, but it was not known how many more casualties there could be as the search and rescue operation was still continuing, officials said.
Miami Dade Fire Rescue was conducting search and rescue operations, and said in a tweet that more than 80 units were “on scene with assistance from municipal fire departments”.
“We’re on the scene so it’s still very active,” said Sgt Marian Cruz of the Surfside Police Department. “What I can tell you is the building is 12 floors. The entire back side of the building has collapsed.”
The building in the town of Surfside, Florida, about 24km north of Miami on the Atlantic coast, partially collapsed about 2am.
The collapse sent a cloud of debris through the neighbourhood, coating cars up to two blocks away with a light layer of dust.
Local media said records showed that the sea-view building was built in 1981 and had more than 130 units inside. — NNN-AGENCIES
