A massive search and rescue operation is underway at the site of a partial building collapse in South Florida.
Officials have confirmed at least one death and 35 people injured when a section of the oceanfront Champlain Towers condominium fell around 1:30 a.m. Thursday in Surfside, Florida.
Surfside is located about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, Florida.
Officials said the 12-story condominium, built in 1981, was undergoing renovations on the roof. They do not believe the renovations caused the disaster.
Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue sent 113 units to the site of the collapse. Rescue teams and K9 dogs continue to search the rubble for survivors.
At least 99 people are still unaccounted for, while 102 people have been accounted for and are safe.
Residents in nearby buildings describe hearing a loud cracking sound before part of the building fell.
Section of the building that collapsed. View is from 88th Street and Collins Avenue.
Security camera footage shows the middle section of the L-shaped building crumble to the ground. Seconds later the rest of the structure fell in a cloud of debris.
The rising sun revealed the total devastation of the pre-dawn collapse. Furniture, carpets and bunk beds can be seen on one floor.
A child was rescued by a passerby who heard him screaming and saw his hand sticking up from the rubble.
A Twitter user shared video from her home surveillance camera that shows a shower of debris falling before the walls begin to shake and the camera loses connection. The woman was not at home at the time of the collapse (watch video here).
Engineers will determine the cause of the building collapse when the search and rescue phase is completed. One building expert called it “an oddity of biblical proportions” for the 40-year-old structure to fall unexpectedly.
“Buildings just don’t fall down,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. “There’s no reason for this building to go down like that unless someone literally pulls the supports out from underneath.”
