At Least 1 Dead After Miami Condo Building Collapses

At least one person has died and dozens are missing after a 12-story residential building in Miami partially collapsed.

As reported by NBC 6, fire officials say more than 80 units responded to the Champlain Towers South condos near 88th Street and Collins Avenue just north of Miami Beach around 2 a.m. In addition to a Technical Rescue Team — a group “specially trained in the treatment and removal of victims trapped in complex or confined spaces”— the Miami Beach police were also deployed to the scene.

Ray Jadallah, assistant fire chief of operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, later said at a press conference that the incident occurred around 1:30 a.m.

Per a tweet from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue issued at 7:49 a.m., approximately 55 apartment units were impacted by the collapse.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said at least one person has died, while also telling CNN, “This is a horrific catastrophe. In the United States, buildings just don’t fall down.”

NBC 6 reported that as of Thursday afternoon, Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez said 53 people have been accounted for and upwards of 99 people are missing.

Previously, Commissioner Sally Heyman of Miami-Dade County said that as of 10 a.m., officials reported 51 people who own units in the building had not been accounted for.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials add that 35 people were rescued from the structure and two people were pulled from the rubble.

Officials at Aventura Hospital also told NBC 6 that they had received three patients from the scene and that two were in critical condition.

As reported by People magazine, Burkett said the building was undergoing roof work, but it is unclear if this contributed to the collapse.

NBC 6 also reported that a small fire appeared to break out in one part of the building on Thursday afternoon amid ongoing search and rescue efforts.

Sadly, Burkett said during a news conference that the building manager told him the tower was quite full and the death toll was likely to rise. He added that the building could be in danger of an additional collapse.

“The building is literally pancaked. It has gone down, and I mean there’s just feet in between stories where there were 10 feet,” Burkett said. “That is heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean to me that we’re gonna be as successful as we would want to be to find people alive.”

Early Thursday, firefighters were seen pulling a boy from the rubble and putting him onto a stretcher. As of this writing, the boy’s condition is not immediately clear.

As reported by People, Frank Rollason, director of Miami-Dade Emergency Management, told press that crews were able to save a mother and her child, though the mother’s leg had to be amputated to get her out of the rubble. It is not clear if this child is the same one who was seen being pulled from the rubble. It is also unclear whether the mother and child were the two who Miami-Dade fire officials say were pulled from the destruction.

Per records obtained by NBC News, the building was built in the 1980s and features more than 100 residential units. NBC 6 adds that a few two-bedroom units are currently on the market, with asking prices of $600,000 to $700,000.