Emergency crews respond to a partially collapsed residential building in the rain in Surfside, near Miami Beach Florida, U.S. June 24, 2021. (REUTERS)
The death toll from the collapse of a Miami oceanfront apartment block has risen to three, ABC News reported, and nearly 100 people remained unaccounted for as rescue workers continued their search for survivors in the rubble.
U.S. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration in the state of Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts.
“The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts,” the White House said on Friday.
Rescue crews picked through tons of rubble on Thursday looking for survivors.
Search teams detected sounds of banging and other noises but no voices coming from the mounds of debris hours after a large section of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, a barrier island town across Biscayne Bay from the city, crumbled to the ground, authorities said.
Footage captured by a security camera nearby showed an entire side of the building crumbling in two sections, one after the other, throwing up clouds of dust at about 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Thursday.
What caused the 40-year-old high-rise to cave in within seconds was not immediately known, although local officials said the 12-storey tower was undergoing roof construction and other repairs.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Thursday 99 people remained unaccounted for some 18 hours after the collapse, though some may not have been in the building at the time.
Another 102 individuals whose whereabouts were initially unknown have since been located and “declared safe,” she said.
A fire official said earlier that 35 people were evacuated from the portion of the high-rise left standing, and response teams using trained dogs and drones in the search pulled two individuals from the rubble. One of them was dead.
ABC News later reported https://abcn.ws/3dfFS9s that at least three people had died in the disaster, citing a county official.
Officials said the complex, built in 1981, was going through a re-certification process requiring repairs, with another building under construction on an adjacent site.
The Champlain Towers South had more than 130 units, about 80 of which were occupied. It had been subject to various inspections recently due to the re-certification process and the adjacent building construction, Surfside Commissioner Charles Kesl told Local 10.