Tragedy without Precedent’: Condo building Partially collapses near Miami at Least 4 Dead, 96 Unaccounted: A significant rescue effort is underway in Miami and Florida after an apartment building partially collapsed. It is thought that at least one person died, but a ten-year-old kid has been saved. According to the local fire department, 80 emergency vehicles were dispatched to the area. It is unclear how or why the 12-story residential structure was constructed.
Built-in 1981 and housing more than 130 units, we don’t know how many people were inside at the time. We know that it collapsed overnight in a neighborhood named Surfside, just north of Miami Beach. According to the latest news, amid the rubble of the apartment building, firefighters found a young survivor who was able to climb out himself in an undamaged state. Firefighters also took an older resident to safety. No one knows how many others may be trapped in the wreckage of the block Champlain towers south.
As stated by an eyewitness, “It partially collapsed in the middle of the night, I looked out the window and couldn’t see anything, I thought it was a storm or something coming in, and then when the dust cleared. The back half of the building, or back two-thirds of the building, was gone. It’s down to the ground. It looks like a hole just from the top to the bottom section of the building just collapsed. It’s crazy. I mean, y’all, it’s crazy”.
Constructed in 1981, the building is located in the Surfside area of Miami, just north of Miami Beach. The neighborhood is home to many retired people, many of whom only live there during the winter in daylight. The damage is evident, and structures in this area are built to withstand hurricanes, so why this building partially collapsed is unknown.
The 40-year-old building on 12 floors was not unclear, and officials stated that they did not know if the remainder of the structure is stable. Engineers investigated the site, but the authorities have warned that determining an exact cause might take some time. Although Surfside Vice Mayor Tina Paul told The Washington Post on Thursday, Champlain Towers South passed a roof inspection on Wednesday.
According to a study article released last year, there has been some building recently, and the structure built on wetlands has sunk since the 1990s.
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