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Urgent search for survivors underway in Florida after building collapse

An urgent search for survivors is continuing in the US today after a 12-storey residential buildi...
Stephen McNeice
Stephen McNeice

06.56 25 Jun 2021


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Urgent search for survivors un...

Urgent search for survivors underway in Florida after building collapse

Stephen McNeice
Stephen McNeice

06.56 25 Jun 2021


Share this article


An urgent search for survivors is continuing in the US today after a 12-storey residential building partially collapsed in Florida yesterday.

It happened in the town of Surfside, part of the Miami area.

It happened shortly before 2am local time on Thursday.

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At least one person has died, while 99 remain unaccounted for.

Officials stressed that some of those missing people may not have been in the building at the time, while over 100 other residents have been declared to be safe.

The local mayor has declared a state of emergency in order to get more resources to the scene.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis says rescuers are still combing the rubble.

He said: "It's a tragic day.

"We still have hope [we'll] be able to identify additional survivors."

He thanked the emergency services and first responders who have been "working tirelessly to save lives in Surfside".

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz described it as a "tragedy without precedent in the United States of America".

Rescuers were working through the night in a bid to find survivors.

Main image: Search and Rescue personnel work after the partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. Picture by: Johnny Louis/SIPA USA/PA Images

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