Officials are currently assisting with recovery efforts and still investigating the cause. Here are the facts.
What happened?
It happened around 1.30 am on Thursday morning. The residents of the intact part of the building reported hearing a loud boom, followed by another boom that caused the building to shake.
Some residents found empty spaces where their neighbor’s apartments were across the hall by opening their front doors.
Marian Lopez, a resident, told the Miami Herald that “that complete side of this building wasn’t there”. The apartments were gone.
A nearby surveillance camera captured disturbing footage that shows the condo section falling into a dust cloud within seconds.
How many people are still missing?
Friday morning’s number of missing persons rose to 159. This is a significant increase compared to yesterday’s 99.
Levine Cava, Miami-Dade’s mayor, said that it was a “tragic night” and that officials would “continue to search because we still believe that we will find people alive.”
Although a reunification site was set up at Surfside community centre, no other survivors were found since Thursday morning. Many people from Latin America including Colombia, Chile, and Cuba were reported missing along with those from the local Jewish community.
Multiple Miami community organizations have established a hardship fund to support the affected families.
How many people can be accounted for?
Officials in Miami reported that 120 people were found safe and sound. Charles Burkett, Surfside’s mayor, stated that 11 people had been treated at the site within the hour following the collapse. Two of the victims were taken to hospital and one died later. On Thursday, three bodies were found in the rubble. This brought the official death count to four by Friday morning.
What we know about the construction
Champlain Towers South Condo was constructed in 1981. It was 12 stories tall and contained 136 units. Officials believe that 55 units within the north-east corridor of the building had fallen. Units with one- to three bedrooms were available in the building, which sold for prices ranging from $295,000 up to $980,000. According to CNN, a four-bedroom penthouse was sold in the apartment for almost $2.9 million.
Officials will likely take some time to determine the cause of the collapse. However, a 2020 study found that the building began sinking in the 1990s.
“I looked at [the structure] this morning, and said, “Oh my God,”,” Shimon Wdowinski of Florida International University told USA Today.
For a certification process every 40 years, the building was also subject to electrical and structural inspections. Eliana Salzhauer (surfside town commissioner) stated to USA Today that there were no serious complaints regarding the building.