1 Dead, 10 Injured Others Unaccounted For After Building Collapse In Surfside Florida

At least one person is dead and 10 others are injured after a building partially collapsed in Surfside Florida overnight. The ‘Chaplain Towers South’ building is located a few miles north of Miami beach. According to Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, the 12 story building with 136 units was built in the 1980’s and was ‘not lowly occupied’, about 55 of the units collapsed and officials are worried the rest of the building may collapse as well. Chief Ray Jadallah with the Miami-Dade Fire Department said so far, 35 people were rescued from inside the building. Rescue operations are currently underway and streets surrounding the building have been closed.

Officials have not released a possible cause for the collapse. Mayor Burkett said “There is no reason for this building to go down like this unless someone literally pulls out the supports from underneath, or they get washed out, or there is a sinkhole, or something like that because it just went down.”  A strong storm with gusty winds, lightning and possible waterspouts is heading toward the area which could impact the rescue efforts.