A young boy has miraculously been pulled alive from the rubble of a 12 story Miami Beach apartment building after it collapsed in the middle of the night, killing at least one person, as authorities worry there could be dozens of more victims.
A huge emergency search and rescue operation was started after the beachfront condo tower, Champlain Towers South, collapsed at approximately 1.30 am in the Miami community of Surfside.
One woman has already been confirmed dead and at least eight people were injured.
Rescue teams, who are still trawling the wreckage for any survivors, managed to pull the boy from rubble in the early stages of the search operation.
Hundreds of firefighters were observed walking through the wreckage, picking up other survivors and carrying them away.
Authorities fear countless more people may be dead or remain trapped after witnesses reported hearing screaming from the wreckage as a search and rescue operation began.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said that the building literally pancaked and that it was tragic because it meant to him that they weren’t going to be successful in finding people alive, and it wasn’t clear how many people were missing but authorities said the building was full when it collapsed.
The building, which contains 130 apartments, 70 of which were believed to have been destroyed, was located one block away from where Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump currently live.
Authorities haven’t yet determined what caused the building to collapse but confirmed that renovations had been underway on the roof.
Mayor Charles Burket said it was doubtful that the roof work had anything to do with the collapse, instead, describing it as a catastrophic failure of the building.
Burkett said that it was difficult to imagine how this could have happened and that buildings just don’t fall down, and that there was no reason for the building to go down like that unless someone pulls the supports out from underneath.
Burkett suggested that possible causes could be the result of the foundations being washed out or a sinkhole.
The Miami-Dade Police have assumed control of the investigation as to why the building collapsed.
The collapse left several units in the still-standing part of the building exposed.
Bunk beds, tables and chairs could be seen still left inside the damaged apartments, and air conditioner units were dangling from some sections of the building where wires now hung.
This was just awful, a concrete structure that just collapsed, and the architect, along with the structural engineer, the contractor, the concrete supplier, the city inspectors and code enforcement officers will have some serious explaining to do.
And then you have to imagine the long-lasting effects of trauma, particularly when you don’t feel safe going to bed at night, and what a nightmare for all concerned, and it brings back memories of 9/11, and it will take years to investigate no doubt, but there must be some human oversight involved somewhere, and hopefully not willful human wrongdoing or someone’s going to jail for a pretty long time.
But this is the sad state of America. Bridges, buildings et cetera beginning to collapse, just like society.
To purchase a new house they want so much money, and all you’re getting is cardboard junk, and who built this building? Because it clearly won’t do much for real estate prices in Miami, and it’s way too soon to say who’s to blame.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 