Florida officials say dozens unaccounted for in beachfront building collapse

Rescue crews near Miami combed through tons of rubble on Thursday for anyone who may have survived the predawn collapse of part of an oceanfront residential tower, with officials reporting at least one person found dead and nearly 100 more missing, Reuters reported

Sally Heyman, a Miami-Dade County Commissioner, said officials have been unable to make contact with 51 individuals who “supposedly” live in the building, home to a mix of people including families and part-time “snow bird” residents who spend the winter months in Florida.

Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez later told reporters that 99 people were unaccounted for and that 53 others whose whereabouts were initially unknown have since been located, though he did not make clear whether everyone in the second group was alive.

“Fire and rescue are in there with their search team, with their dogs. It’s a very dangerous site right now. Very unstable,” Ramirez said.

“They’re in search-and-rescue mode, and they will be in that mode for a while. They are not quitting. They’re going to work through the night. They are not stopping.”

Ramirez said the numbers of known casualties and people missing were likely to fluctuate.

“I don’t want to set false expectations,” he said. “This is a very tragic situation for those families and for the community.”