Yes, I want answers. Firefighters on Friday declared the end of their search for bodies at the site of a collapsed Florida condo building, concluding a month of painstaking work removing . ALVAREZ: I can't imagine. Rosenthal said it is a miracle that he managed to escape because many of his neighbors' apartments were on the L-shaped tower that collapsed. ALVAREZ: I was in bed, and I heard a tremor. According to The Telegraph, another Haitian man survived underneath a pile of rubble for over three weeks by drinking sewage water . It was like a sandstorm. Jeff Pias, 60, was staying with his . , even as police and forensic specialists continue working to identify human remains. Residents of a partially-collapsed condo in Surfside, Florida, have spoken out about what they heard, felt, and saw during the disaster, as search and rescue efforts continue. Families deserve to know what really happened to their loved ones. Town leaders fuming at obstacles to investigation, aim to sue county, Florida judge approves $83 million settlement for property loss in Surfside condo collapse, DeSantis signs condo reform bill a response to Surfside building collapse into law, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Thats a horrifying thought, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told the outlet. The rumble was followed by a loud crash and debris as part of a condo complex collapsed in Surfside . In the first 48 hours, we obviously did not have all the resources, Burkett, the mayor, told USA Today. Susana Alvarez is 62. More than 150 people were unaccounted for after a high-rise condo building partially collapsed near Miami Beach early Thursday, leaving at least four people dead and 11 injured, officials said . We talked until 1 in the morning, De Moura said. The bodies of 83-year-old Antonio Lozano and his wife, 79-year-old Gladys Lozano, were recovered from the wreckage by first responders on June 24 and June 25, respectively. Surfside is a few miles north of Miami Beach. She said she believed she is only one of two people from her floor who survived. "I lost everything," Alvarez said, "and it doesnt mean anything to me.". Both had been flagged in a 2018 engineering report noting the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix systemic issues with the Champlain Towers South. But the staircase directly outside their unit was collapsing, he said, so they had to find another one. And I ran, and I ran. "We cannot say what is the reason for that from the satellite images but we can say there was movement here.". A 13-second video from inside the Miami condo collapse shows debris falling, the footage shaking and the the video cutting out. I'm very, very emotional. Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. "Nothing's ruled out. Your email address will not be published. And a warning, this is a harrowing conversation but an important one. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Someone help us. We're here! During times like this, they are very good. And it felt like the longest thunder I had ever heard in my life. "I feel like I'm mourning every minute for someone in the building," she said. Before sprinting to the beachto safety, Aguero said thegroupcrawled up about three feet of rubble on the first floor andovercamea three-foot gapby the pool. When you start hitting seven days, that really goes down." Survival depends on several factors - mainly access to air and water, ability to regulate body temperature, pre-existing health conditions, injuries sustained during the collapse, and mental will to live. Nine of the 98 Surfside victims may have SURVIVED the initial condo collapse: Fire rescue logs show woman was alive in rubble for TEN HOURS. Updated on: July 14, 2021 / 9:25 PM There was nothing there, and people were screaming. Another requires condo owners to maintain a reserve fund to address needed repairs. I ran to the balcony. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue workers search through the rubble for survivors after a condo building partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021. The couple lived in apartment No. GARCIA-NAVARRO: You were in the building when it collapsed. The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiners Office has released initial reports for 67 of the victims, listing the cause of death as either blunt force injuries or building collapse.Only one autopsy was performed, according to the report. Rescue workers continued digging feverishly for a sixth day Tuesday, after stressing Monday that they could still find survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Surfside condo building. Its not like her, and its not like me, and when I woke up at 5:30, I understood why.. A family who survived the Surfside condominium collapse said they were mere feet from losing their lives. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. / CBS News. When he opened the . It's still unclear what caused the condominium, which has withstood decades of hurricanes, to partially collapse. Did anyone survive the collapse Surfside? In May:DeSantis signs condo reform bill a response to Surfside building collapse into law. Published SURFSIDE As many as nine of the 98 victims who died in the worst building collapse in modern U.S. history might have survived the initial cave-in, a USA Today investigation suggests . Albert and Janette Aguero suddenly awoke early Thursday to what they said sounded like a "really loud clap of thunder." All Rights Reserved. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks to ABC News for an interview on "Good Morning America" on June 25, 2021. I was sleeping, and I heard the loudest thunderclap Ive heard in my life times 100, he said. He and his wife got the kids from their beds and ran for their lives. Scene at family reunification center, where 'it's the waiting that's getting to me' A Miami-Dade County grand jury on Wednesday released a series of recommendations for condo safety throughout Florida after a deep examination of the deadly collapse in Surfside earlier this year. "It could have been a very different thing," Janette Aguero said, her voice wavering with emotion. GARCIA-NAVARRO: It sounds like you want answers. WSVN broadcast educational and informational programming for children, and file quarterly reports with the FCC detailing the station's outreach to children. July 5, 2021 4 . The 12-story residential complex in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, partially collapsed before 1:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. Son shares how family survived Surfside condo building collapse 03:11 About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. Anyone with family members from the condominium who are either safe or still missing is urged to call 305-614-1819 to account for them. ", She made her way to a nearby stairwell and tried to exit on the pool deck, but the door was jammed. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? ALVAREZ: It was. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. "At that point, we knew it was a race against time because I didn't know if the rest of the building was coming [down].". The uncle of a 15-year-old who survived the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, two weeks ago called the man who found the teenager in the rubble to thank him. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida said she escaped by climbing through the rubble in the dark with her dog. Its a miracle. Albert Aguero, his wife and two children, who are from New Jersey and on vacation in South . Live Updates: Miami-Area Condo Collapse Rescue crews race to find scores of people still missing in the wreckage Binx The Cat, A Survivor Of The Florida Condo Collapse, Was Reunited With His Family "There's got to be a reason we came back later. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Susana Alvarez, thank you very much for talking with us. And it was just a lot - what looked like smoke, which must've been dust. When part of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida, collapsed early Thursday, it left a pile of rubble where the beachside residences once stood. The whole experience, she told Today, was really surreal., Unfortunately, we did hear screams. The judges initial approval came May 28, the day after attorneys for the families of victims reached an agreement to avoid a protracted court battle that could have taken years to resolve. He thought the ordeal could not be real, but he said he knew it was real when dust fell on his face and saw more of it out of his window. Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. Praying that the building didnt fall on me, collapse on me. "Its nothing short of amazing.". Nir, a recent college graduate, was living there while he looked for a job and considered medical school. Was any of that shared with the rest of residents? Capponi's organization, Global Empowerment Mission, has distributed roughly $75,000 in gift cards among surfside survivors, and he's also working with hotel and condo owners to find places they can live for the next two months. I mean, the bed was shaking. So far, only five people have been confirmed dead. "We decided to run to the other side of the building, the north side of the building, where there is another staircase," he said. (AP), LIVE UPDATES: SURFSIDE CONDO BUILDING COLLAPSE. Have a news tip? A mother and daughter who survived the Florida condo collapse that killed 98 people describe how they survived falling when the floor gave way. Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela have all reported nationals who have been affected by the building collapse in Surfside, with more than a dozen still missing. An investigation by USA Today found that at least nine of the 98 people killed in the tragedy initially survived the June 24 collapse, including one woman who was possibly still alive under the rubble 10 hours later. Areas where land is subsiding are more likely to experience more serious effects of sea level rise, according to the study, which was published in the international journal Ocean & Coastal Management. "There was no . All rights reserved. The billionaire developer, DAMAC Chairman and Founder Hussain Sajwani,announced in a May 27 press release that he plans to build an ultra-luxurious condominium project. Some of the victims of the devastating condo collapse in Surfside, Fla., may have been alive for hours after the building first caved in but were never found alive by rescue teams, a report said Tuesday. Which of the following structure contains osteocytes? The apartments were gone.. ", Workers load a stretcher with remains extricated from the rubble into a Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner van, near the Champlain Towers South condo building on Friday. What are you thinking at this moment? There was light, but it was the eeriness of it. Miami condo owners warned of major structural damage in 2018. First published on July 14, 2021 / 2:21 PM. We're going to hear now from one of the survivors of that collapse. The NIST received $22 million in supplemental funding from Congress to complete its investigation. ALVAREZ: It makes me think that the engineer did not properly do his work. A Haitian man once survived for two weeks within the wreckage of a building after a . Officials confirmed they had recovered remains for each person who had been considered missing after the June 24 collapse. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. She kept telling me what to do. They chose to live in Champlain Towers South. Hes based in Tallahassee. The final missing person in the condominium building collapse in Surfside, Florida has been recovered and identified, according to the Miami-Dade County mayor. Sara and Eyal Nir have six kids and two of them, Gabe and Chani, moved into the condominium building with them. And the stairs were all full of rubble. On Tuesday, Balboa told CNN in a phone call that the boys uncle reached out to him on June 28 on Facebook, and also called him to say thank you for saving his nephew. I can't imagine. 2023 www.tallahassee.com. When they opened their door, they sawsky and beach where their neighbors doors had once stood. He ran to his apartment to drop off his dog, and when he returned to the wreckage, he heard screaming under the rubble. I really didn't think anything of it. With her dog in her arms, she had to climb through rubble and over cars to escape. Like, you feel like an earthquake is happening right in front of you," he said. "Nothing like this has ever been seen, at least not in the 40 years I've been doing this," Direktor told ABC News. And there was maybe two apartments left in my floor, and I banged on their doors. There was people alive in there. But I'll - I know I can get myself back up on my feet. But, I mean, I can't get into the building. I left the cat behind, and I ran out. The Associated Press reported that the $1 billion settlement would come from several sources, including insurance companies, engineering companies and a luxury condominium that had recently been built next door. I couldnt tell where it was coming from.. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. "Three families that I know well," he . They were screaming. I have no family. GARCIA-NAVARRO: It sounds like it was a very good community. The Associated Press contributed to this story. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case, Son shares how family survived condo collapse, Son shares how family survived Surfside condo building collapse. Raysa Rodriguez recounts a harrowing escape from her unit at the collapsed Surfside condominium, and . Usually it's hard for me to sleep because you have the screaming echoing in my mind and it just brings those flashbacks. (Sara Nir) RIGHT: A bedroom in the Nir's apartment, Unit 111, before the collapse . Yes. And they opened it, and I just ran. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. But all the material possessions they lost can be replaced, he said. About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. While delayed maintenance and structural complications are widely considered the cause of the collapse, manyquestions about the disasterstill remain. Deven Gonzalez, left, and her volleyball teammate Liyah Deveaux. Ninety-six bodies were recovered from the Champlain Towers South collapse site in Surfside, Florida, while one other victim who died at a hospital brings the official death toll to 97. Memorial services are planned throughout the day, including a private event with family members and survivorsat the precise moment of the collapse 1:22 a.m. A public ceremony is planned later in the day. The structural engineer has been around for a while. GARCIA-NAVARRO: You did the only thing you could. Mr. Candiotti, 67, knows he was lucky to have survived the collapse last month of the condo building in Surfside, Fla. At least 97 of his neighbors did not. So far, there is no evidence of foul play, according to Levine Cava. But her mother, Angela Gonzalez, and her sister, Deven Gonzalez, did survive. "I said, 'Oh my god, where's the building? An attached copy of the policy showed limits between $1 million and $2 million. But I am homeless right now. "It felt like the whole building was shaking," Schechter said, adding that she went to look out the window. Dressed in flip-flops and pajamas, Alfredo and Marian Lopez left their home of 22 years afterwhat sounded like a loud crash of thunder woke them from their sixth-floor apartment at the northwest corner of the Champlain Towers South. GARCIA-NAVARRO: But you know if you'd done that, you might have lost your life. "They are going to basically have to start all over again," Capponi said. "We said, 'We have to run, don't take anything,'" Longobardi recalled during an interview Friday on "GMA" with ABC News' T.J. Holmes. I (opened) the doors and a wall of dust hit me," she said in the filing. From the man who hugged me when I went out there to that beach, and I was all alone out there - and I have no idea who he was - to the security guard in the building next door - the luxury building next door who came out and grabbed me and said, you're coming with me. "We are working with the Consulates of various countries in the Western Hemisphere to help secure travel visas for family members who need to travel to the U.S.," Rubio wrote in a post on his official Twitter account on Thursday evening. When he told me My building collapsed, I believed something wrong happened during the building or something broke, but not the whole building on the floor.. Florida Gov. "I looked to my left and half of the apartment is gone, look forward and the elevator shaft is there and there's no elevator, it's just two holes," Aguero told NBC South Florida. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much "I know that they are hopeful, so we are hopeful as well.". And at that point, I got up, and I said, wow. About four hours later, he checked his phone and found out what had happened to his home and neighbors. The Miami Herald, in a multimedia investigative story,reported last December that the collapse beganwhen the ground-floor parking area and pool deck caved in, and found that design failures, shoddy construction, damage and neglect over the past 40 years lined up like dominoes to create the perfect conditions for a deadly chain reaction.. But, at this point, nothing to indicate that.". And it's just overwhelming, really.". And - so I went around the corner, and that's when I saw that the building was missing. Alfredo used to joke to his wife she'd have to bury him there. They have been hampered by torrential rain and fires and have had to move with excruciating care. "She lived there for a long time," said Adam Schwartzbaum, her attorney, "and she was planning to live there for the rest of her life. If the cause of death could have been multiple things, and we dont have enough evidence to say definitely what it was, we dont list possible causes.. An eyeglass store refilled her prescription, even though she never called it in. "While we're running, we're thinking, we don't know what's going on. June 24: At around 1:20 a.m., while many residents were sleeping, the condo tower shakes and then partially collapses, destroying about 55 apartment units. And please understand that I don't care - everything I lost in that condo, including my parents' wedding rings and my father's 18-karat gold watch from Cuba that was engraved and all that - I don't care. She then went down to the garage to discover it was flooded with water upto her ankles. Their car was destroyed in the building's garage. (CNN) After several weeks of searching and waiting for news on victims from the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, all 242 people have been accounted for. Now she has moved in with family members and assumes what's left of the building will be torn down with no chance to recover belongings. So far, one person is confirmed dead, 11 are injured and 99 people . Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. or redistributed. It was about the life that I had there. I could hear them screaming. I can only imagine how many people were in their apartments either sleeping or watching TV or just whatever, just living their lives. Unbeknownst to them the building was about to break away., Little fingers and screaming led a dog walker to a boy trapped in the collapsed Florida condo rubble. Rescuers are in a desperate bid to try and find survivors in Surfside, Fla., amid the wreckage of the Champlain Towers condo building. We got to the stairwell and when we opened the door, that's when everything really hit, because half the wall to the stairwell was missing, it was kind ofopen airstairs, so now we're just racing down as fast as possible.". Newsroom: (305) 795-2777. Rescue teams have tunneled into an underground parking lot for the condo building, creating a 125ft-long trench in an attempt to find air pockets in which people may have survived. They managed to survive the collapse after Sara Nir heard loud noises and then saw the parking deck collapse. The announcement came after search and rescue operations were paused for hours because of growing signs the structure was dangerously unstable. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida has shared how she escaped. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida said she escaped by climbing through the rubble in the dark with her dog. Condo building's collapse prompts historic search-and-rescue response 4:54 p.m. From the balcony of his vacation rental in Unit 1106 right by the collapsed wing he saidhe saw a grey cloud covering the entire building. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. ABC News' Eliana Larramendia Boyd, Kendall Coughlin, Alexandra Faul, Christopher Godburn, Joshua Hoyos, Aaron Katersky, Rachel Katz, Katie Kindelan,. And there was water - a lot of water. But the kindness of people has been phenomenal. "That's kind of what's hard.". For now they are staying at a nearby hotel, the floor of their room cluttered with items donated by friends and strangers. The public may view the reports by going to WSVN.com and clicking on "FCC Public File", or by visiting the FCC's website at FCC.org. Eyal was out of town that fateful night. At least 10 people have been confirmed dead, but over 150 are still missing as of Monday afternoon. Those are our neighbors. She still hears the screams from that night. Switchboard: (305) 751-6692 Last Wednesday night, hours before the collapse, Erick De Moura was walking out of girlfriend Fernanda Figueiredos Miami Beach home to head to his condo in Champlain Towers South. The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. - Latest victims in condo tower collapse include 2 children Officials said Thursday that they're making plans for the likely demolition of all parts of the building that didn't collapse. The identification brings the total death toll to. The cause of the collapse is still being investigated, but evidence soon emerged of a history of maintenance and structural concerns at the building, which was just beginning a multimillion-dollar repair project. ALVAREZ: I was only thinking of myself. July 23, 2021 / 11:29 PM / AP. The images that I saw looks like some place that had a bomb, Figueiredo said. But, The June 24 collapse killed 97 people 96 bodies were pulled from the debris and one died at a hospital after being removed and. "We lost everything, so there's so many things that your mind goes crazy. Many families are still holding out hope that their loved ones will be found alive. They were always, always offering assistance. As of Friday, some 159 people were still unaccounted for following the collapse of the northeast section of Champlain Towers early Thursday morning, and four people have . Discovery Company. "My initial reaction is wow, we were so lucky. We talked aboutitand we say it's about 15 feet that we survived by, if we had been 15 feet to the right, it would have gone down, or half of the apartment would have gone down," Aguero said. Steve Rosenthal said he was woken up when he heard a loud noise and felt his unit shaking. She quickly grabbed her dog and tried to evacuate, along with other residents, down the only staircase that was available. He thought the cause of the collapse was a gas explosion and wanted to get a safe distance away. And I don't know - we just - we climbed out of rubble. The teens rescue was one of at least 37 people rescued the day of the collapse. Im like, All right, Im in the middle of it. Did anyone survive the Surfside collapse? People stand at the Surfside Community Center where authorities are taking residents and relatives from a partially collapsed building in Surfside near Miami Beach, Fla., June 24, 2021. Search and rescue personnel work onsite after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. Thats what saved me. And I ran out the front door. "I don't have anything," said the 62-year-old survivor of the condominium . Support . WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale, Damage forces evacuation of Miami Beach apartment building, Ordered to leave their homes, Crestview Towers residents speak out on evacuation, Remembering the victims of the Surfside condo collapse, How you can help those impacted by the condo collapse in Surfside, Coral Gables resident still refuses to sell decades-old home surrounded by massive development, Broward County pastor faces several fraud, grand theft charges after defrauding church, Gunman dead after hours-long SWAT standoff at SW Miami-Dade apartment complex, Police: Man fatally shot 3-year-old son, himself inside Coconut Grove condo, Police arrest student who made false bomb threat at Dillard High School; classes resume. Miami, FL 33141 The New Jersey couple were vacationing with their two children in southern Florida, staying on the 11th floor of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South condominium in a unit owned by their parents. Heavy machinery is used to remove a support column as search and rescue personnel work atop the rubble at the Champlain Towers South condo building on Friday. This was in a matter of seconds, out of nowhere. That is what they said, OK? "Especially at nighttime. A "substantial number" of the condominium's residents are from overseas and "almost a third" of those reported missing are foreign citizens, according to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. "We were screaming 'Help! It wasn't until they opened the door to the hallway that they realized what had actually happened. The June 24 collapse killed 97 people 96 bodies were pulled from the debris and one died at a hospital after being removed and one person who is missing has still not been identified among the remains. Paolo Longobardi, who lives in the Champlain Towers South with his wife and two children, said he also awoke to loud noises and saw part of the building collapse. Far more people have not been as fortunate; 32 people have been confirmed dead, and 113 remain unaccounted for as teams urgently search through the rubble for signs of life, officials said Tuesday. The uncle of a 15-year-old who survived the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, two weeks ago called the man who found the teenager in the rubble to thank him. And that, to me, is the worst thing, and that's all I want back. And again, I'm staying in the area. Always. An aerial view showing a partially collapsed building in Surfside near Miami Beach, Fla., June 24, 2021. I lived there by myself. He was obviously sleeping, Balboa said two weeks ago. A total of 98 people died when the building partially collapsed on June 24, 2021. Direktor noted that he hadn't been warned of any structural issues with the building or about the land it was built on. Balboa flagged a police officer and other rescuers, who helped pull the teenager out to safety. "Without hesitation, I did exactly what she told me. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The familys condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. "These folks that we are serving, who we know they are having the worst experience of their lives, are turning around and asking you what can they do to serve," Logan said. A total of 20 agencies are offering assistance to families affected by the collapse. No one ever, ever, ever told us that this - that that building was in such bad shape - no one, no one. We took out $15 million to fix that building at his say-so. I don't even know why. (Liyah Deveaux) By KELLI KENNEDY. Your email address will not be published. Search and Rescue personnel work at a partial collapse building . I don't know why I grabbed my phone. At least two members of the family were seriously injured in the collapse one is still missing. I think that it was a progressive evolution, and every hour that went by, we continued to add resources.. Thats how we got out.. The Lopez family has lived for two decades on the street side of the condo that's still partially intact. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. Steven Rosenthalwasasleepin a corner unit of the12-story Champlain Towers South buildingthat collapsed last Thursday when he heard the loudest thunderclap times a hundred that I ever heard in my life.. I had just taken all of my mother's pictures - all the pictures of our family to that condo two days before that because I was going to sort them all out. This story has been shared 155,909 times. Yes. One provision stipulates that condos taller than three stories must be inspected every ten years. When I opened the door to my apartment, it leads to a long hallway, and all I saw was debris, Osin-Cohen told"Today. The disaster that killed at least 18 people, with more than 140 still missing, also rendered dozens of people homeless. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. It's unclear exactly how many residents have been displaced, but those with insurance policies should recoup at least a portion of their losses.