One Dead, 99 Unaccounted For After Building Collapses in Florida

In the early hours of Thursday, 24 June, a 12-storey building collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing at least one person and leaving at least 99 people unaccounted for, according to a report by CNN.

Meanwhile, a total of 102 people have been accounted for, while two people were pulled out from the rubble in a yet-undisclosed medical condition. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Ray Jadallah also told CNN that four people were taken to the hospital, while seven others were treated on the site.

Just a few miles from Miami beach, the 12-storey high rise Champlain Towers South building collapsed partially around 1.30 am, leaving several condos exposed. Authorities fear that the death toll will rise as rescue operations continue.

Nicholas Fernandez, a 29-year-old Argentinian resident of Miami, who is yet to hear from friends staying in the building told AFP, “I don’t know about them, I don’t know if they’re alive.”

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According to a report by AFP, of the 99 unaccounted for after the collapse, there are three Uruguayans, 18 Latin American nationals, nine Argentinians and six Paraguayans still missing.

Emergency services arrived on the scene at 1:30 am, evacuating 35 people. Operations continued throughout the night, with fresh crews arriving on the scene in the morning.

Police were still unsure of the status of those who were inside the building at the time 55 of the 136 units of the high-rise collapsed. The director of the Miami-Dade Police department Freddy Ramirez was quoted at a press conference saying, “That could be for different reasons, we’re still in the early stages.”

The building had a mix of full-time as well as seasonal residents and authorities remain unsure of how many were inside at the time of the incident, reported AFP.

According to local news agencies, the building was built in 1981 and had been undergoing construction work prior to its collapse, but authorities are unsure of the reasons behind the collapse.

(With inputs from CNN and AFP.)

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