Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said more than 80 units responded to the collapse at a condominium building near 88th Street and Collins Avenue around 2 a.m.
By NBC 6 • Published 5 hours ago • Updated 1 min ago
 
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At least one person was killed and a massive search and rescue effort was underway early Thursday following the partial collapse of a 12-story condo building in Surfside, Florida.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said more than 80 units responded to the beachfront condo near 88th Street and Collins Avenue just north of Miami Beach around 2 a.m.

The collapse sent a cloud of debris through the neighborhood, coating cars up to two blocks away with a light layer of dust. Footage from the scene showed a large section of the sea-view side of the building collapsed into a pile of rubble.

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Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett confirmed at least one person was killed in the collapse. It was unknown exactly how many people were injured or were inside the building at the time of the collapse but Burkett said at least 10 people were treated at the scene.

Officials at nearby Aventura Hospital said they had received three patients from the scene. Two were in critical condition.

"The building has literally pancaked, it has gone down, and I mean there's just feet in between stories where there were 10 feet," Burkett said. "That is heartbreaking because it doesn't mean to me that we're gonna be as successful as we would want to be to find people alive."

A witness told NBC 6 said he saw the entire rear of the building collapse.

"I just can't put into words, it looks like a bomb hit, it looks like something in one of these Third World countries that just literally collapsed, like a pancake straight down, and there's just an incredible pile of rubble," he said.

Earlier Thursday, firefighters were seen pulling a boy from the rubble and putting him onto a stretcher. The boy's condition was not immediately clear. Firefighters were also seen using a ladder truck to rescue people who were still in sections of the building that were still standing.

Officials said search dogs were also helping to look for survivors.

1:12
Boy Pulled From Rubble of Collapsed Condo Building in Surfside
A boy is rescued by firefighters from the rubble of a partial collapse of a condo building in Surfside.
Daniel Groves was staying at a hotel staying at a hotel across the street and said he had to be evacuated after the collapse. Groves posted footage of the aftermath on social media, calling it "the craziest thing I've ever heard in my life."

"The building, one of these huge buildings, gone, right there beside us, the craziest thing I've ever heard in my life," he said in the video. "Look at the building, it's gone."

0:45
Witness Video Shows Aftermath of Surfside Building Collapse
Footage from a witness shows the aftermath of a partial building collapse in Surfside.
Officials said they don't know what caused the collapse.

Miami Beach Police said their officers also responded to the building and Miami-Dade County's Technical Rescue Team was being assisted by municipal fire departments in searching the scene for survivors, officials said.

"It's a very active scene, I advise everyone to just stay out of the area so that fire rescue and officers can conduct rescues and do what we need to do," Surfside Police Sgt. Marian Cruz said.

The Champlain Towers South Condos is located at 8777 Collins Avenue. The development was built in 1981 in the southeast corner of Surfside, on the beach, and has more than 130 units. It had a few two-bedroom units currently on the market, with asking prices of $600,000 to $700,000, an internet search showed.

Burkett said there had been recent roof work done on the building but it was unknown if that had anything to do with the collapse.

Officials said residents were being moved to the Surfside Community Center, and streets in the area were closed.

No other information was immediately known.