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Post by Admin on Jun 26, 2021 20:14:53 GMT
After the catastrophic collapse of a building near Miami, Florida, search and rescue efforts continue for 159 unaccounted for individuals. NBC’s Sam Brock reports for TODAY. Fire and smoke coming from deep inside the concrete and metal remains of a collapsed 12-story condominium tower near Miami hampered rescue efforts Saturday as emergency workers raced to recover any survivors beneath the mountain of rubble. Rescuers used infrared technology, water and foam to battle the blaze, whose source was unclear, and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the smoke has been the biggest challenge. In a news conference, she described the blaze as “very deep” and said rescuers faced “incredible difficulties” because of the flames. A fire hose blasted one of the lower floors on the north side of the tower as white smoke or steam streamed out, and a bitter, sulfur-like smell hung in the air. “The stench is very thick,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. A crane removed pieces of debris from the more than 30-foot pile in the city of Surfside, and scores of rescuers used big machines, small buckets, drones, microphones and their own hands to pick through the rubble. Among those anxiously awaiting word of missing loved ones was Rachel Spiegel, whose mother, 66-year-old Judy Spiegel, lived on the sixth floor. Speaking alongside her siblings, she said Saturday that “we’re trying to hold it together.” “I know my mom is a fighter. I know she loves us. I know she doesn’t want to give up. So, you know, it’s day three, so it’s hard,” Spiegel said. One hundred fifty-nine people were still unaccounted for two days after Thursday’s collapse, which killed at least four. Authorities announced they were beginning an audit of buildings nearing their 40-year review — like the fallen Champlain Towers South — to make sure they’re safe. The mayor asked other cities in the county to join the building review and said there will be state and federal funding to help. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have joined local and state authorities at the site, DeSantis said. He added that a nearby “sister building” of the collapsed tower is also being looked at because it was built at the same time and with the same designer. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he was working on a plan to temporarily relocate residents of the Champlain Towers North, which was constructed the same year and sits about 100 yards away from the collapsed building, and that FEMA has agreed to pay for lodging. Burkett added that he was also trying to arrange an emergency inspection and until that happens, he can’t tell residents whether they’re safe in their homes. “I know that the identical building collapsed for an inexplicable reason,” Burkett said. “Buildings in the United States do not just fall down. ... Something very, very wrong was going on at that building, and we need to find out.” The mayor said he didn’t plan to order residents to evacuate, but if he lived there, “I’d be gone.” Surfside city staffers were also gathering details about a third building, Champlain Towers East, which was built in a different style and appears to have been constructed at a different time. The news came after word of a 2018 engineering report that showed the building had “major structural damage” to a concrete slab below its pool deck that needed extensive repairs, part of a series of documents released by the city of Surfside.
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Post by Admin on Jun 26, 2021 22:44:23 GMT
Live: Officials Hold Briefing After Building Collapse Near Miami Beach | NBC News
Florida rescuers and authorities are responding to a partial building collapse in Surfside near Miami Beach.
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Post by Admin on Jun 27, 2021 6:49:31 GMT
Families around the world remained stuck between waning hopes and widening fears Saturday, two days after the stunning collapse of a 12-story condominium near Miami.
At least five people were killed and more than 150 people remained unaccounted for as rescuers continued to dig through the rubble of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside. The building was home to an international mix of foreign retirees, South American immigrants and Orthodox Jews, all with anxious loved ones across the globe.
The Miami-Dade Police Department identified for the first time four of the five deceased people late Saturday and the apartments where they were at the moment at the collapse. Their names were Stacie Dawn Fang, 54; Antonio, 83, and Gladys Lozano, 79; and Manuel LaFont, 54.
STACIE DAWN FANG Stacie Dawn Fang was with her son Jonah Handler when the building collapsed. They lived on the tenth floor of the condo building. The boy's small hand waved through the wreckage as a man who was out walking his dog hurried to the site, climbed through a pile of glass and rebar and promised to get help right away.
Rescuers helped the boy out from under a pile of cement and carried him away on a stretcher, taking him to a hospital.
"There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Stacie," members of her family said in a statement. "Many heartfelt words of encouragement and love have served as a much needed source of strength during this devastating time."
As far as the boy's condition, a friend of the family, Lisa Mozloom told the AP "He will be fine. He's a miracle."
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ANTONIO AND GLADYS LOZANO Antonio, 83, and Gladys Lozano, 79, lived on the ninth floor and were close to celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary. Their son, Sergio Lozano, told WPLG-TV that he had dinner with his parents hours before the collapse.
The son lived in one of the towers of the complex and could see his parents' apartment across the way from his. That night, he said the heard a loud noise they thought could be a storm.
"The building is not there," he said he told his wife. "My parents' apartment is not there. It's gone."
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Here are the stories of some of the missing:
TZVI AND INGRID "ITTY" AINSWORTH Tzvi and Ingrd "Itty" Ainsworth were celebrating the birth of two new grandchildren. Their son in South Africa recently had a baby and their son in Florida had a baby just days ago, their niece Chana Harrel told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The couple, who are in their 60s, lived in Australia for nearly two decades before returning to South Florida to be near their children. The couple had seven children and many live in South Florida, including their daughter just blocks away, she said.
"Every person she encountered, ever in her life, became her friend. Everyone was treated as equals," Chana Wasserman wrote in a Mother's Day blog post to her mother Itty last year. "The guy at the laundromat, the guy working at the fruit market ... "
Ingrid struggled with chronic pain issues, but didn't let that darken her mood. She tried to focus on the positive, a sunny day, a long car ride that would seem tedious to many she reframed as a chance to talk and catch up, he daughter wrote.
"I know I will never be able to match my mother's pure enthusiasm for life but it's inspiring to watch," Wasserman wrote.
Itty's mother, a Holocaust survivor living in Miami Beach, is battling cancer and doesn't know about the tragedy.
"They didn't tell her. She's not well," Harrel. said. "It's absolutely horrific."
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BRAD AND GARY COHEN Brothers Brad and Gary Cohen were both medical doctors who were active in their local communities. Brad Cohen was married to Soriya Cohen. She has spent hours outside the condo building, showing pictures of the siblings on her phone to anyone who will listen, desperate for updates.
"We need every bit of help we can get. This is the difference between life and death for so many people including possibly my husband if he's still alive," she told CBS News 4.
Dr. Brad Cohen was a popular orthopedic surgeon who specialized in sports medicine. A woman who answered the phone at his office Friday said, with sadness in her voice, that his patients adored him. He did his residency at the State University of Stony Brook in New York and a fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, according to his website.
His brother, Dr. Gary Cohen was a physician at Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center in Alabama, and was also active in his local synagogue there.
"He spent many years providing care to our Veterans. He is part of the Tuscaloosa VAMC family and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this incredibly difficult time," according to a statement from John Merkle, director of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.
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DAVID AND BONNIE EPSTEIN David and Bonnie Epstein lived in unit 901 with their dog Chase, said Bonnie's cousin Joey Feldman.
David was a retired successful real estate investor who loved to jet ski and kite surf. The couple have a son who lives in New York.
Feldman said the family is very small.
"Bonnie was like my sister growing up," said Feldman, who lives in Los Angeles. "She took me to my first concert."
He said he is devastated but is praying for a miracle.
"I am holding out hope," he said. "I came into work to get my mind off of it. But no sleep."
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HILDA NORIEGA Hilda Noriega had called Champlain Towers home for more than 20 years. But six years after her husband died, the 92-year-old was ready to leave.
"We were going to move her into our home and her condo was up for sale," said Sally Noriega, her daughter-in-law.
Sally Noriega said her mother-in-law was extremely active and loved living so close to the ocean and to her friends. But, she said, "when you lose a spouse you want to be surrounded by family ... and she wanted to spend more time with her family and grandchildren."
Hilda Noriega's daughter-in-law described her as "an extremely loving and sweet person," who built a life with her husband and raised a family after coming to the U.S. from Cuba in 1960.
"She was just one of those people who from the first time she met a person she instantly loved that person and that person instantly loved her," said Sally Noriega, who rushed to the scene of the collapse with her husband, Carlos Noriega.
There, they found a reminder of the particularly strong bond Hilda Noriega shared with members of her church group. As they stood trying to hold onto hope amid the rubble, Carlos Noriega noticed an envelope peeking out from under his shoe.
"On the outside it was addressed to Hilda and the card had butterflies on it and it was a birthday card signed by her prayer group," said Sally Noriega. "They had taken her out for her birthday and they all signed the card."
Sally Noriega said the family does not know what to make of the card found among so much debris and chaos.
But, "we are a family of faith," she said. "We'll just leave it at that."
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Post by Admin on Jun 27, 2021 15:10:36 GMT
Live: Officials Hold Briefing After Building Collapse Near Miami Beach | NBC News
Florida rescuers and authorities are responding to a partial building collapse in Surfside near Miami Beach.
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Post by Admin on Jun 27, 2021 18:52:46 GMT
Engineer report released in building collapse, families wait as 159 remain unaccounted for in building collapse, and New Mexico hot air balloon crash kills all five onboard.
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