'Our heart goes out to them.' Pres. Biden responds to Florida building collapse, saying the administration will do 'everything possible to be of assistance now and after...they decide exactly what the state of play is.'
"Tragically, I woke up to learn that three bodies had been pulled from the rubble last night. Devastating newswaiting for any hope of survival," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told ABC News' Cecelia Vega in an interview Friday on"Good Morning America."
The first death was confirmed early Thursday, just hours after the partial collapse occurred at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. The oceanfront complex has 136 units, and approximately 55 of them were destroyed along the northeast corridor, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah.
There have been"encouraging signs" like knocking sounds, she said. The responders also have discovered people in rubble over a week after an incident in previous disasters,"and so that is why we are continuing our search and rescue mission," she added.Jadallah told reporters that at least 11 people were medically assessed and treated on site, four of whom were then transported to local hospitals.
A Miami-Dade county official told ABC News that there's real concern about the structural integrity of the remaining building, particularly from dangling wires and portions of concrete. Fires have flared up throughout the day, adding to the danger for the search and rescue teams, according to the official.
The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is now pulling additional resources from FEMA to assist with the search and rescue efforts, Jadallah told reporters Friday morning.A portion of the 12-story condo tower crumbled to the ground during a partially collapse of the building, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Fla., north of Miami Beach.
The Champlain Towers South Condo Association was preparing to start a new construction project to make updates and the condominium had been through extensive inspections, according to Kenneth Direktor, a lawyer for the association. Direktor said the construction plans had already been submitted to the Town of Surfside but the only work that had begun was on the roof.
Rubble hangs from a partially collapsed building in Surfside, Fla., north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021.
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