At least one person has died and 51 others are unaccounted for after the collapse overnight of a 12-storey residential building north of Miami, Florida, according to officials.
Rescuers are combing the rubble in the search for survivors and were seen pulling a boy out alive. It is unclear how many people were in the building at the time.
The complex in the town of Surfside was built in 1980. Out of 130 units, about half were affected by the collapse.
County Commissioner José Díaz said fifty-one people believed to have been living in the building have not yet been contacted,
Meanwhile, officials say Rescuers pulled 35 people from the wreckage while ten were assessed and treated, of whom two were sent to hospital.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would travel to South Florida later on Thursday. “We are bracing for some bad news just given the destruction that we’re seeing,” he warned, saying he thought the quick response from the emergency services had saved lives.
A community centre in Surfside has been turned into a family reunification centre and an information point for concerned relatives.
Police gave the building’s location as 8777 Collins Avenue, the address of the 12-storey Champlain Towers, which contains more than 100 beachfront apartments and was built in 1981. Surfside runs along Collins Avenue, north of Miami Beach city limits.
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