Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Condo Collapse Information from Florida; Andy Hyatt is Interviewed about the Collapsed Condo; David Paulison is Interviewed about the Collapsed Condo; Rachel Spiegel is Interviewed about Missing Family. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 25, 2021 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[09:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's special coverage continues right now.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

We begin with breaking news on that devastating building collapse in Surfside, Florida. At least four people are dead, 159 unaccounted now at this point. Among them, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children. At least 37 people were pulled from the rubble or rescued from the parts of the building that are still standing. Of those, 11 were injured. Four have been taken to the hospital.

HARLOW: Rescue teams are dealing with fires, shifting material, twisting steel, water like this up to their knees and their waists. They are crawling into crevices through the rubble looking for possible survivors. Officials say they have heard sounds from underneath this debris, but they cannot confirm hearing any voices at this time.

Officials say President Biden is receiving updates on this. He is expected to address it later today at the White House.

Let's go to our colleagues Rosa Flores and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. They are on scene in Surfside, Florida.

Thank you both for being there for all of your coverage throughout this.

And, Rosa, let's begin with you.

What more have we learned this morning, especially about the number unaccounted for?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Poppy, we were expecting this to happen. I know that Governor DeSantis mentioned it yesterday, that they knew that more bad news was going to be coming in the -- in the coming hours. And we learned that overnight three more bodies were pulled from the rubble. That, of course, brings the death toll to four.

We're also learning about the challenges that firefighters were facing overnight. Fires that not only started, but then were re-ignited. And so that just, Sanjay, tells us, gives us a glimpse of really what is going on behind us and the dangers that these firefighters are facing to try to save lives.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really risky work. And, at the same time, I mean, there's a lot of people who they say are unaccounted for. The building may be fully occupied, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there was -- there was everyone was actually there because people come for certain months of the year and things like that and that adds to the challenge as well.

SCIUTTO: Sanjay, we are more about 30 hours out from when this went down. Tell us about survival factors in conditions like this. Listen, having covered these kinds of events before around the world, you often get positive surprises as late as days later. From a medical perspective, though, what should we be aware of at this point this many hours out?

GUPTA: I think -- I really do think it is too early to say. And I don't think that that's trying to be euphemistic at all for the reasons you mentioned, people can survive. I mean you think about the obvious things. Somebody obviously has significantly traumatic injuries. They cannot survive that. That's one factor. But for people who survive the initial collapse, you're talking about, you know, the things that you would imagine. You know, are they in a void where they could have access to oxygen, air and could they potentially get water? I mean we're not at that point yet where that would be a concern, but it's been raining here. You know, things like that come into play.

And then if they are found, then exactly how that rescue takes place is really important. I mean, you know, it is complicated. They talk about breaking into areas, breaching those areas, shoring up the areas and then, basically, if someone has pressure, for example, on a limb or a part of their body, it's not as simple as sort of lifting that rubble off of them. And sometimes they have to do amputations in the field. It's tough to talk about, guys. I don't mean to sound too clinical. But they will put in IVs there to basically flush fluids through because certain toxins can be released into the bloodstream.

So all of these factors are in play here.

And Rosa and I have been talking to so many people, I mean there's trauma surgeons that are on the scene for those exact purposes. You talk about search and rescue, but also taking care of the workers and the people themselves.

HARLOW: Wow.

Rosa, to you, it's just so startling to hear what Sanjay said, but he knows. I mean he knows what it -- what it takes and what these folks are doing beyond just trying to locate any possible survivors, trying to save them potentially when they are located.

What did we just hear, Rosa, from the officials in that press briefing about the search and rescue?

FLORES: You know, Poppy, they talked about the dangerous work that is going on behind us. These firefighters are going inch by inch. Every single piece of rubble that they remove is a danger. That's why they're working with engineers because every single movement that they make could be lifesaving or it could be catastrophic.

[09:05:05]

And they talked about this painstaking work.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAIDE JADALLAH, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: We have hope. And every time that we hear a sound, we concentrate in that area. So we send additional teams, utilizing the devices, utilizing canine, utilizing personnel. So as we continue to hear those sounds, we concentrate in those areas.

QUESTION: When was the last time your crews did hear a sound out there?

JADALLAH: Throughout the night.

MAYOR DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA: This work is being done at extreme risk to these individuals. Debris is falling on them as they do their work. We have structural engineers on-site to assure that they will not be injured. But they -- they are proceeding because they are so motivated and they are taking extraordinary risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And it's important to note that the members of this task force here in Miami-Dade County have traveled the world doing this, Sanjay. So these are experts. These are people that know exactly what they're doing. And from what officials told us earlier this morning, they're bringing in more resources from Naples, from Orlando, from other places to supplement the work so that it can continue 24 hours.

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, they can only work 15 minutes at a time, I'm told, because 80 pounds of equipment they're carrying, it is -- it is laborious, very challenging. People from Maryland even here now.

So the resources are here, but the work, I mean, it is -- it is that difficult.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Rosa Flores, so good to have you both there.

We're joined now by Andy Hyatt. He's the town manager for Surfside, Florida.

And, Andy, thanks so much for joining us. You have so much on your plate here as those rescuers work, hopefully

to find someone still alive.

We've heard that teams have detected sounds. Do we know what those sounds are? Have they heard any signs of life?

ANDY HYATT, TOWN MANAGER, SURFSIDE, FLORIDA: Well, at this point they're not sure. A lot of this settling of this building, things like that, as things rub together, of course, the structural engineer is there -- as things rub together, you never know if that's somebody or if it's some metal settling or things like that. So, you know, it's a tall task ahead. A lot of due diligence is going on down there. They're -- it's painstakingly laborious and it's going to take, you know, quite a while to finally reach every single person. But they will not rest until (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: You have said that -- exactly that, it could take upwards of a week or more to have a, you know, final number here. It was so startling less than an hour ago, you know, we all gasped when we heard them say at the press conference, 159 people missing or unaccounted for at this point. And that does not mean that they're all dead, but it's that they're -- they don't know where they are. Is it possible, knowing the occupancy of that building, to your best estimate, given people could have had others visiting them, or not have been in their apartments at the time, that that number could go up?

HYATT: Well, I think, you know, this time of the year, especially, you know, post-COVID crisis that we were in, you know, you've got a lot of people traveling. There's no cruise industry right now, so a lot of families are deciding to take trips and vacations. Some are coming here. So we don't know the exact number that were in the building. We know that it was, you know, about 80 percent occupied, but that doesn't mean that there was 80 percent occupied with people. The -- the condo units actually had, you know, leases or people living -- owners there.

We know that some families around here travel quite a bit to New York and other areas of the northeast. So it being June, you know, you might be seeing more people that have left to either go on vacation or come back. Hopefully the prior is the case, that several have left.

But, by the same token, we know that wherever they may be, and I'm getting, you know, texts from family in Europe and things like that, the news is worldwide. Obviously with CNN and other channels, this news is out there, so people will know what's happened. So, you know, that's a little concerning that we don't get the calls that, hey, I'm OK, I'm in California, or I'm in New York or whatever. So, you know, that is a little concerning.

SCIUTTO: Andy Hyatt, CNN had a researcher on last hour who quoted research that has been reported elsewhere about evidence of subsidence in this area, basically rough equivalent of sinking of this structure. And I wonder, prior to this, and it's far too early to determine cause with any definitiveness at this point, but prior to this accident here, were there any concerns expressed about this building or this area? And today are there concerns about other buildings in the area? HYATT: Well, as of the day before yesterday, no, there had not been really any concerns. Our building official had been on the roof.

[09:10:00]

They were doing some roofing work there. And it was fine. There was no heavy equipment on the roof. There was no reason to think that anything related to the roof could contribute to something like this.

There are structural engineers that work with the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue that will be going through this building. We also will be hiring and have -- will be contracting with a structural engineer, a nationally renowned structural engineer to come in and help us.

Not only that, but we're -- we're going to take it a little further and start looking at other buildings. Just, you know, to -- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, obviously. So we're going to -- we're going to do our due diligence in that area.

HARLOW: Yes, that's such an important point. There was sort of a sister building to this one as well. And no reason to think it's not safe. But, Andy, given what Jim pointed out, which is so important, is that this professor, Shimon Wdowinski, from Florida International University of the environment did tell CNN that it was back in the '90s that he found from this study that the south condo showed signs of sinking.

Were you and city officials -- and I know you're pretty new to this position, but were city officials aware of that and concerned about it?

HYATT: Not -- not to my knowledge. Like you said, I'm pretty new to this position. But we are looking into that. We're checking all of our records. We've recently hired a new building official. He started about four -- three or four months ago. We're doing a lot of searching to make sure -- to see that -- if there's anything that had been missed by anybody. We just were made aware of this report yesterday. So that -- that was a -- a little startling. So we're looking into that. So we want to make sure that we do cover all of our angles and we do, you know, the right things to make sure that the building, as we knew it, was in a safe condition. Obviously it was not. But at this point we do not know, you know, what contributed, but in time that will -- that will surface.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Andy, we're so sorry. We're so sorry for your whole community.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Good luck on the search and rescue. Thank you.

HYATT: Thank you. And we appreciate it. But, you know, one thing I do want to add, you know, the families, we're really reaching out to the families and we want them to know that, you know, they're in our thoughts and prayers, and we appreciate this opportunity to get that out there.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: The most important thing in all of it.

Thank you, Andy.

HYATT: Thank you.

HARLOW: As search and rescue teams are digging through this debris in an extraordinary fashion for any survivors, families of the missing are holding on to hope and waiting for answers. We will speak with one of them ahead.

SCIUTTO: Plus, sentencing day today for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who murdered George Floyd. We're going to be live from Minneapolis with a preview.

And President Biden is celebrating a major bipartisan deal on infrastructure. There are questions now about, will Democrats in the Senate get on board? Are some Republicans expressing second thoughts? We'll have an update coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Right now, rescue crews are working around the clock cautiously, moving rubble in hopes of finding some of the 159 people still unaccounted for after that condo collapse in Surfside, Florida. Rescuers using listening devices, cameras, dogs to try to find any signs of life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAIDE JADALLAH, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, MIAMI=DADE FIRE RESCUE: As the heavy machinery comes in, we will begin removing some of the debris from above, some of the light debris. As we place those -- those devices to look for voids, we start looking for additional victims. We are looking for -- we are listening for sounds. It's not specifically, you know, human sounds. It could be, you know, tapping. It could be steel, you know, kind of twisting. It could be some of the debris kind of raining down.

So we concentrate in those areas from below, we continue with using light machinery, saws, jackhammers as we continue to tunnel through underneath.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well, officials say they are hopeful that they may find some people still alive in the rubble.

Let's bring in former FEMA director David Paulison. He's also formerly the fire chief of Miami-Dade County.

I'm so sorry because this was -- this was home for you and you're not far away in Fort Lauderdale, Director. Thank you for being with us this morning.

DAVID PAULISON, FORMER FIRE CHIEF OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, thank you, Poppy. Yes, it's a very tough time for everyone right now.

HARLOW: There -- there is hope. We heard that from multiple officials this morning. And we've heard a lot in the last 12 hours or so about these voids, that even though it was sort of this pancake collapse, there are substantial voids between the levels of concrete, which means a little bit better chance of survival.

Do you have -- do you understand, from all of your previous work, how long someone could ostensibly survive in a void like that?

PAULISON: You know, we've seen people survive for a couple days, three days, sometimes longer. It's unusual, but it's obvious to me that the Miami-Dade (ph) Fire Department have not given up. They're not going to give up. They're looking for all these sounds.

And when you hear the sound, it could be the debris shifting. It could be metal twisting, as you heard before. But they're going to look in those areas. So, generally if you hear some type of a sound, that means that they'll head to that, so there could be a void there.

I am, like you said, very proud of them. They are -- they are committed, actually committed, and really putting their lives on the line because this whole rubble pile is not stable. The existing building that's still standing is not stable.

[09:20:00]

They're being very careful. But it's a very, very dangerous situation they put themselves in. But they are committed to find anybody alive if there possibly -- if they can possibly do that.

SCIUTTO: Mr. Paulson, this is a catastrophic collapse. An entire building disappeared in a cloud of dust in seconds overnight two nights ago.

How can this happen, I think is a very basic question. And what level of inspections takes place in buildings like this? I mean the building not particularly old, 40 years old. Are these buildings that are regularly inspected? Is there any history of this there? Is there -- was there known to be any danger in this area in the ground in some way? We heard a researcher talking earlier about subsidence there, you know, a sinking of the ground. Was there any warning is the basic question?

PAULISON: And the answer is no, none that I've seen. A 40-year-old high-rise building like that is not very old. You know, but they do have a law here in Florida where every 40 years a building's got to be inspected, as you heard, for electrical, plumbing, structural integrity. And they were in the process of doing that. We have not seen a report yet. So we'll see what that report says.

But I don't think anybody could have predicted that something as catastrophic as this could have happened. Generally you get some type of warning ahead of time that there's a, you know, a crack or a shift in the building and they evacuate -- you know, the building's evacuated, then it's reassessed. We -- there was no indication there was any of that so far. As we go through this, through the next weeks and months, hopefully we'll come find out what happened because there's other buildings that are in the same area. There were buildings actually in the same way. And we need to really get to the bottom of that.

HARLOW: Well, absolutely. And to Jim's point about inspections, actually we just heard from an official that yesterday -- that -- or, excuse me, the day prior, so that would be two days ago, this building passed inspection, a multi-week, thorough inspection is the way it was described.

How could that be? I mean these inspections -- I know nothing about them. You know a lot more. They must check everything, including how sturdy a structure is, no?

PAULISON: I think we're going to have to wait and see why the building came down. Was it something that they could not get to? Like I said, you know, we haven't seen the total report yet. But, yes, that would bring into question of -- if they did an inspection, what did they miss or was it something they simply could not (INAUDIBLE)? Was it something deep in the foundation where you would not see.

Until we find out why the building came down, why the building failed, we really can't answer those questions yet. But they're good questions, Poppy. They're actually a good question that need to be answered.

SCIUTTO: These search crews, they maintain hope. They work hard. They're taking risks as we speak in what remains a dangerous structure above their heads. How long does that effort continue in your experience?

PAULISON: I -- you know the -- this is a very dedicated fire department. They will not come out until they're absolutely pull out of the building. They will seek -- looking for people as long as there is any hope at all that somebody could be alive in there. That's how they operate. That's how they operated when I was there. It's a very committed, very professional and very well trained department to deal with this type of situation there, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, David Paulison, like you, we are hoping for the best and sending our thoughts to all those families there still waiting for news.

Thanks so much.

And we will have much more on our breaking news of the morning from Surfside. That's coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:12]

HARLOW: More on our breaking news this morning.

We know at least four people are dead and 159 people are unaccounted for after this tragic condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida. Rescuers right now all through the night listening for any sign of life while constantly facing the threat from unstable rubble and parts of the building that are still standing. Families are clinging to hope that their loved ones will be found and are alive.

Like Judy Spiegel. You see her right there, a 65-year-old beloved grandmother and mother who is among the missing this morning. Her daughter, Rachel, is with me.

Rachel, thank you.

RACHEL SPIEGEL, DAUGHTER OF WOMAN MISSING AFTER CONDO COLLAPSE: Thank you. Good morning.

HARLOW: I have no words that -- that can adequately comfort you, but I am -- I am so sorry and if we could just begin with any -- any updates on your mother from authorities.

SPIEGEL: No, we don't have any updates at this time. No updates.

HARLOW: I didn't know her, obviously, but I saw a lot of pictures of her this morning, and she looks incredibly strong. And we're showing them to our viewers now.

SPIEGEL: Yes.

HARLOW: I want to show people a few specific pictures of your mom. So, there's this one I saw of her toasting with your father on some special occasion.

SPIEGEL: Yes.

HARLOW: We'll pull that up.

SPIEGEL: That's their anniversary.

HARLOW: Was it?

SPIEGEL: Yes.

HARLOW: And then there's this --

SPIEGEL: Yes. They were married in 1982, so they would be approaching 40 years.

HARLOW: Wow. Wow.

And then there's this -- this beautiful photo of you in a pink dress with your mother as well. It looked like a special moment.

SPIEGEL: That was my mom's 65th birthday. Yes, we were in the Four Seasons Surfside celebrating her 65th birthday.

[09:30:03]

My mom loved it there. She really loves -- loves Surfside, you know?

HARLOW: Of course.