More than 80 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units were sent to the scene of a partial building collapse in Surfside around 2 a.m. Authorities, who are still digging through the rubble, are reporting at least one person died and 10 people are injured.
Visuals from the scene show the side of the 12-story condo Champlain Towers South, located at 8777 Collins Ave., completely collapsed in a pile of debris with police cars and fire trucks gathered in the street below.
“It’s hard to imagine how this could happen. I’ve lived in Miami Beach. I was born here and buildings just don’t fall down, never, never. I mean it’s the most shocking thing that I think we’ve seen ever. It looks like an earthquake,” said Mayor Charles W. Burkett.
A reunification hotline and center have been set up to reunite the families from Champlain Towers South.
The address for the reunification base at the Surfside Community center is 9301 Collins Ave. The hotline number is (305) 614-1819.
An investigation to determine what caused the building to collapse has begun.
