Partial building collapse near Miami

By Aditi Sangal, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso III and Joshua Berlinger, CNN

Updated 1109 GMT (1909 HKT) June 25, 2021

6 Posts

Sort by

7:40 a.m. ET, June 24, 2021

At least one dead after the partial building collapse

From CNN’s Leyla Santiago

A portion of the 12-story condo tower crumbled to the ground during a partial collapse of the building on June 24, in Surfside, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett confirms that there is at least one fatality from Thursday’s early morning building collapse.

According to Burkett, the person was transported to the hospital where they were pronounced deceased.

“This is a horrific catastrophe. In the United States, buildings just don’t fall down," Burkett told CNN’s Leyla Santiago.

The mayor told reporters that at least 10 people were treated on scene and that the building has been cleared.

The mayor went on to say that the building was undergoing roof work, but he couldn’t say whether that was a contributing factor to the collapse.

6:34 a.m. ET, June 24, 2021

A neighbor describes what it was like to evacuate after the collapse

From CNN's Paul P. Murphy

Kimberly Morales lives in the building across the street from the one that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, and was awoken by building alarms going off.

"I woke everyone up in the room because when I looked out the window, I saw everyone outside," she told CNN. "I told everyone to hurry up and leave the building."

She says she didn't hear the building collapse, but when they got outside, they saw a significant portion of the building was missing.

She's now in a community center with other evacuees.

Morales took this video of the scene:

6:24 a.m. ET, June 24, 2021

"It's completely gone in the back," says a neighbor, describing the scene of the collapse

A Surfside, Florida, resident Michael Ruiz described the scene. He lives near the partially collapsed building.

"Before just 2:00 in the morning — I live off of Collins Avenue — and I'm hearing, I would say, about 50 ambulances and fire trucks and fire rescues just driving by," Ruiz told CNN affiliate WPLG on Thursday morning.

Ruiz says he got a message from another neighbor mentioning the collapse.

"I came by, and I have never seen so many ambulances and police in my life all at once. It looked like something from, like, 9/11 literally," he added.

Ruiz said he was able to go to the back of the partially collapsed building. He says he took videos and photos, and that the entire building collapsed from the 14th floor.

"So there's a third of the entire building that you cannot see from the street, but it's completely gone in the back, towards the beach side."

7:42 a.m. ET, June 24, 2021

Here's what the building looked like before it collapsed

Authorities are on the scene of a "partial building collapse" in Surfside, Florida this morning.

Video from the scene shows huge piles of rubble near the damaged building as well as a large amount of first responders.

Here's what the building looked like before the overnight collapse:

6:15 a.m. ET, June 24, 2021

The building is located in Surfside, Florida

The partially collapsed building is located in Surfside, Florida. Surfside is about 6 miles north of Miami Beach.

6:09 a.m. ET, June 24, 2021

A multi-story building has partially collapsed near Miami, authorities say

Authorities in South Florida were responding early Thursday to a "partial building collapse," the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.

In a separate news release, it said more than 80 rescue units were at the location, including Technical Rescue Teams, along with assistance from municipal fire departments.

CNN has reached out to Miami Beach Fire Rescue and the Miami Beach Mayor's office.