Miami building collapse: No more survivors found overnight as fire hinders rescue efforts

Video captures harrowing moment of Florida building collapse leaving 51 missing

There has been no update to the number of survivors from the Miami building collapse overnight on Friday, officials said.

Rescue teams were still working to locate 159 unaccounted for people after the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building fell on Thursday. Four people have been confirmed dead.

One problem impacting the search efforts was a fire that’s burning deep within the rubble from the collapse.

Authorities were now working to locate the source of the fire, or fires, while also finding ways to still search for any possible survivors.

More fatalities are expected as authorities warned the number of missing from the collapsed apartment complex in Florida could increase from the current figure of 159.

Meanwhile, a researcher at Florida International University has revealed that the building had been sinking into the ground since the 1990s.

Firefighters rescued 35 people from the Champlain Tower South building that collapsed in the middle of the night on Thursday in Surfside, a beachside town just 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Miami.

Those with family members who may have been in the building at the time of its collapse are asked to call 305-614-1819. More information here.

Key points

• Pregnant British mother, husband and daughter thought to be among missing
• Miami building collapse: Rescuers hear ‘banging’ as Florida declares state of emergency
• Joe Biden’s responds to Miami condo collapse
• Rescuers pull a boy from the rubble, as search ongoing
• Death toll rises to four - mayor
• Dramatic video shows moment of building collapse
• Governor Ron DeSantis says to expect ‘bad news’
• Relatives of Paraguay’s First Lady among dozens of people missing after Florida building collapse

[26 June 2021 23:00 · Danielle Zoellner]

Many people missing from building collapse are Latin American

The Champlain Towers South building housed an international community of residents, including at least 36 people from Latin America.

People from Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Cuba, Chile, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Argentina are among those reported to authorities as missing after the building collapsed overnight on Thursday.

This includes the first lady of Paraguay, Silvana López Moreira.

Paraguay officials confirmed to local media outlets that Mrs López Moreira and her family were among the missing.

Additionally, the condominium housed members of the Jewish community. Twenty of the 159 people currently missing were Jewish, according to Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Israel’s consul general in Miami.

Rescue teams were still working to locate any survivors from the building collapse.

[27 June 2021 00:18 · Danielle Zoellner]

Consulting group release statement following emergence of 2018 structural report

Morabito Consultants has released a statement amid reports of its review of the Miami residential building in 2018 that listed several structural issues.

In the statement, the group confirmed that engineers completed a review of the Champlain Towers South building in October 2018 that included recommendations for “extensive and necessary repairs”.

“Among other things, our report detailed significant cracks and breaks in the concrete, which required repairs to ensure the safety of the residents and the public,” the statement read.

The residential building then reached out to the group again in June 2020, nearly two years after the report, to start working on its “40-year Building Repair and Restoration” plan.

Morabito Consultants said it was cooperating with the authorities amid an investigation into why the residential building collapsed.

Read the full statement here:

[27 June 2021 01:35 · Danielle Zoellner]

Watch the moment a 10-year-old was rescued from the collapsed building

[27 June 2021 02:48 · Danielle Zoellner]

Engineer warned of 'major structural damage' three years ago

An engineer’s report found evidence of “major structural damage” at a residential condominium complex near Miami three years before its fatal collapse earlier this week, writes Richard Hall.

Rescue teams are working around the clock to search for survivors at the site of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex in Surfside, Florida. At least 159 people are missing after the building suddenly collapse in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Even as the search continues, families of those who lived in the buildings are demanding answers about how the 40-year-old structure fell apart so abruptly.

Full report here: