Miami building collapse: Fire hindering rescue efforts as city considers evacuating sister building

There are still 159 people unaccounted for after the building collapsed overnight on Thursday

A fire has hindered rescue efforts to the 159 unaccounted people from a Surfside residential building collapse, officials said.

“It’s a very deep fire. It’s extremely difficult to locate the source of the fire. So, they’ve been working around the clock, these fire rescue teams, these brave men and women, under the rubble to fix this problem so they can get on, but it is hampering our search efforts,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levina Cava during a Saturday news conference.

The smoke has been the biggest hindrance to the rescue workers.

Officials are now working to locate and extinguish the fires while continuing to try and locate anyone who might be alive.

“Obviously, the smoke itself is the biggest barrier right now to proceeding in those areas. So, we created a trench using heavy equipment to try to isolate the fire and continue searching for victims in the part of the pile that we can access. No further victims have been found,” Ms Cava said.

There was no new update on survivors overnight, the mayor added.

Rescue workers are trying to find the 159 unaccounted people from the collapse of the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building.

There have been four people confirmed dead and 127 people accounted for since the building collapsed on Thursday.

City officials are now working to determine the safety of other buildings in the area that are 40 years or older.

The collapsed building has a “sister building” called Champlain Towers North building.

Residents have been allowed to stay in the building but an evacuation was up for consideration amid concerns that it could have similar structural issues as the south building, given they were constructed at the same time with similar plans.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked during a Saturday press conference if residents should feel safe living in the “sister building” following the collapse.

He said an evacuation was up for consideration “given the similarities, given the same age”.

But Mr DeSantis would not state what he recommended. Instead, the governor said that it would ultimately be up to local officials like Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett on what to advise residents.

“I’ve recommended that that building be evacuated pending a thorough structural investigation,” Mr Burkett told CNN on Saturday.

“Because I don’t think people need to live with the possibility, or the thought that their” building may collapse, he added.

It was unclear if this recommendation required approval from other city and state officials before taking place.

The cause of the Champlain Towers South building is not yet known.