https://youtu.be/PfzjeYcNENc
Searchers using dogs trained to find earthquake survivors in rubble are combing over the debris from the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South Condo, a 12-story residential building in the Surfside area of Miami-Dade County, the Miami Herald reports.
Twelve hours after the building collapsed at 1:30 a.m. ET due to unknown causes, rescues had been able to free 35 people from the wreckage, with 10 sent to hospitals for treatment. One engineer said the collapse of the 40-year-old building was “an oddity of biblical proportions.”
Officials estimate 55 condo units were impacted by the collapse, and 58 of those units’ residents have been accounted for. One person is confirmed dead.
The building reportedly houses a number of immigrant families from South and Central America, as well as a number of Australians. Relatives of the first lady of Paraguay, Silvana López Moreira, also lived in the building and were unaccounted for.
Video showing the collapse, from a neighboring building’s security camera, show no signs of what may have caused the failure. Witnesses said they heard “a bang that just kept on going” but the video shows no explosion or flash.