MIAMI BUILDING DISASTER

LOVED ONES CLING TO HOPE AFTER AN APARTMENT BLOCK IN FLORIDA FALLS DOWN, LEAVING THE FATE OF MORE THAN 150 RESIDENTS UNKNOWN

In the early hours of June 24, Albert Aguero woke up in his rented apartment in Surfside, Miami, thinking the 12-storey tower had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Aguero, who was on vacation from New Jersey with his wife and two children, felt the building shake and sway, and beyond the balcony of their Florida holiday rental, saw a plume of grey smoke. Fearing for his and his family’s safety, he herded everyone out the door.

“I looked to the left and there was nothing – the apartment to the left of us had been sheared in half,” he told USA Today. He led his family to the crumbling stairwell, and made it to the bottom of the building, helping an elderly woman on the way. Said Aguero, “We were just tremendously lucky.”

For others inside the apartment complex, it was a tragically different fate. Around 1.20am that Thursday, while most of the residents were in their beds, a 12-storey section of the beachside Champlain Towers South condominium collapsed. Of the building’s 136 apartments, 55 are now gone. At press time, authorities had confirmed 11 deaths, while more than 150 people remained unaccounted for. An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway (see box).

“Our top priority now continues to be search and rescue,” said Daniella Levine Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County. “We continue to have hope. We’re looking for people alive in the rubble.”

To that end, rescuers with dogs are scouring the rubble and ruin for signs of life. Australian Alison Thompson, who lives in Florida and runs the Third Wave Volunteers charity, has been visiting the ground zero site since the collapse. “We’ve been helping at the base of the pile, but the reality is the site is very unstable and dangerous,” Thompson, who has been volunteering at disaster sites since the 9/11 attack in New York City, tells WHO. “There’s still falling debris and small fires inside, and the remaining building can topple with any false move.”

The first identified victim was Stacie Fang, a 54-year-old mother who had been pulled from the debris,

The Surfside apartment block collapsed at 1.30am on Jun. 24.

BEFORE The towers were built in 1981. AFTER Fifty-five apartments were completely destroyed. Albert Aguero was lucky to escape with his life. IN SHOCK Surviving residents, officials and first responders were left shocked by the destruction. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava addressed the media about the tragedy.