Firefighters, sniffer dogs and emergency crews search the rubble for survivors of a residential building that collapsed on Thursday morning north of Miami Beach.
This is what we know.
Follow live updates on the Surfside building collapse here [en inglés].
What happened?
Survivors said they were awakened around 1:30 a.m. by fire alarms, falling debris and the feeling that the ground was shaking.
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–Fiorella Terenzi, an associate professor at Florida International University who lives in a neighboring building, Champlain Towers East, said she was awakened early Thursday by loud noise.
The sound “was like a sudden big bang,” he said. At first, Terenzi thought it was thunder, but then she heard the sirens. When he left the building, there was dust everywhere.
“I could see that half of the Champlain Towers South building had collapsed, like a sandwich,” Terenzi said.
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–How many people have died?
At least four people were killed, and authorities fear there are many more fatalities.
“Several people” were taken to nearby hospitals from the rubble of the collapsed building, a police spokesman said. At least two people were in critical condition, according to a spokesman for Aventura Hospital and Medical Center.
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–Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters that authorities were “bracing for some bad news” but still hoped to find and rescue survivors.
How many people are unaccounted for?
On Friday morning there were 159 people whose whereabouts were unknown, authorities said. Officials have stressed that the numbers will continue to vary as they determine how many people were actually in the building at night.
Miami Condo Collapse
How many were rescued?
About 35 people were rescued from the intact part of the building, and two were pulled from the rubble, said Ray Jadallah, an assistant fire chief for the Miami-Dade Emergency Service.
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–What do we know about the building?
The beachside building, Champlain Towers South is located at 8777 Collins Avenue and was built in 1981.
It had 12 floors and 136 units. At least half of them collapsed.
The area is home to a strong Jewish community with longstanding ties to South American families. Many Jewish and South American residents are reported to be among those missing.
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–Why did the building collapse?
Authorities did not give a reason for the building’s collapse. At a news conference late Thursday afternoon, county mayor Daniella Levine Cava said it was a “structural engineering issue.”
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–The building was about to undergo extensive repairs due to rusted steel and damaged concrete, Kenneth S. Direktor, an attorney involved in the project, said Thursday. The repairs had been scheduled as part of a 40-year-old building review and recertification process.
Direktor said it had not seen anything to suggest that the collapse had to do with the problems identified in the engineering review, adding that any building of that age facing the sea would show some level of corrosion and deterioration of the concrete.
Police said that while search and rescue efforts were prioritized Thursday, officials would soon begin a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the collapse.
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–Do you know anyone in the Champlain Towers South building?
Do you have family or friends in the Champlain Towers South building that you have tried to contact? If so, with whom and what is your relationship with them? *.
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