did anyone survive the condo collapse
I - and I just want my cat back. I ran to the balcony. Search and Rescue personnel pull a body out of the rubble after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. Surfside Resident Who Survived Condominium Collapse Wants Answers NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Susana Alvarez, who lived on the 10th floor of the building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida He said he awoke around 1:15 a.m. to a shaking building and swaying chandeliers. One unit over, and I am gone, Rosenthal added. ALVAREZ: They are. A 15-year-old boy who miraculously survived the Miami condo collapse was sitting in his bedroom next to his mother when the building gave way and she was killed, according to a lawsuit filed by . 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. At least two members of the family were seriously injured in the collapse one is still missing. "When we measure subsidence or when we see movement of the buildings, it's worth checking why it happens," Wdowinski, who analyzed space-based radar data, said in a statement Thursday. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And this is, of course, the middle of the night, so it's dark. 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. And we sat there with the town of Surfside. 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. Dubai-based DAMAC Properties won a $120 million bid to acquire the 1.8 acres. I left the cat behind, and I ran out. He and his wife got the kids from their beds and ran for their lives. There was light, but it was the eeriness of it. (CNN) After several weeks of searching and waiting for news on victims from the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, A class-action complaint updated on Nov. 10 alleges that the towers were badly damaged and destabilized because of, A total of 98 people died when the building, Over a month after a condominium complex near Miami abruptly collapsed overnight, local officials said Monday theyve identified the remains of a final missing person, sending the disasters overall death toll to. (Sara Nir) RIGHT: A bedroom in the Nir's apartment, Unit 111, before the collapse . And I ran, and I ran. There was nothing there, and people were screaming. This was in a matter of seconds, out of nowhere. A family who survived the Surfside condominium collapse said they were mere feet from losing their lives. ", She made her way to a nearby stairwell and tried to exit on the pool deck, but the door was jammed. Have a news tip? They have been hampered by torrential rain and fires and have had to move with excruciating care. What are the survivors - you know, you - who managed to get out, what are you talking about? WSVN broadcast educational and informational programming for children, and file quarterly reports with the FCC detailing the station's outreach to children. ", Now they have to rebuild their lives from scratch. Most residents were asleep. "Im just grateful I made it out alive with my family," Nir said. Alfredo Lopez and his wife describe how they escaped the crumbling Champlain Towers South on June 24, 2021. The announcement came after search and rescue operations were paused for hours because of growing signs the structure was dangerously unstable. And then we - I don't know where I came out to, but there were cars that were all, you know, with rocks and stuff on them, crashed. Search efforts . Legal Statement. Without hesitation, I did exactly what she told me. And they opened it, and I just ran. That is what they said, OK? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com. 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. A high-rise condo building in Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed on June 24, leaving at least 95 people dead, with as many as 14 potentially still missing Tuesday afternoon. But all the material possessions they lost can be replaced, he said. I also want you to know that that couple - that they keep saying in the news that 1001 - it's a man and his wife - that the niece was visiting them - they were the nicest people, the nicest people, were always - I'm by myself. Rosenthal is not the only survivor who has shared their story. Some of the medical examiners reports reviewed by the newspaper showed injuries such as broken legs, possible fractures or small cuts that wouldnt have resulted in immediate death, the report said. As Sara and Chani ran from the building, Gabe called 911. Aguero, his wife and two children, were visiting South Florida from New Jersey. July 5, 2021 4 . Switchboard: (305) 751-6692 2023 Cable News Network. Did anyone survive the Surfside condo partial collapse? And - so I went around the corner, and that's when I saw that the building was missing. "It could have been a very different thing," Janette Aguero said, her voice wavering with emotion. Since the collapse, Balboa said he has replayed that moment in his mind many times, wondering what he could have done differently to save more people, he told CNN. ", VIDEO SHOWS WATER GUSHING INTO GARAGE BEFORE SURFSIDE BUILDING FELL. The NIST received $22 million in supplemental funding from Congress to complete its investigation. (AP). I don't care about that. In the main lawsuit, brought by surviving family members, they argued thatrepair work to a neighboring building damaged and destabilized the Surfside building, which was found to be in need of major structural repairs to its foundation for years. Sadly, no one . And it's just overwhelming, really.". Mia, another cat, had been lying at the feet of her owner on . Discovery Company. GARCIA-NAVARRO: You were in the building when it collapsed. 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. Miami condo owners warned of major structural damage in 2018. So far, one person is confirmed dead, 11 are injured and 99 people . I won't leave. During times like this, they are very good. A massive search and rescue operation has been underway since early Thursday, as crews carefully comb through the pancaked wreckage and remaining structure in hopes of finding survivors. 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. "Pancake collapses tend to 'stack' floors on themselves, bringing all their weight down nearly square on the . This story has been shared 155,909 times. "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency," the statement noted. Your cat's name was Mia (ph), right? One year later, heres what we know so far. It wasnt about my home. Surfside condo collapse:Town leaders fuming at obstacles to investigation, aim to sue county, From March:Florida judge approves $83 million settlement for property loss in Surfside condo collapse. Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with her life and almost nothing else. CNNs Eric Levenson contributed to this report. Deven Gonzalez, left, and her volleyball teammate Liyah Deveaux. But I'll - I know I can get myself back up on my feet. ALVAREZ: I want answers. First responders arrive at the partially . Direktor noted that he hadn't been warned of any structural issues with the building or about the land it was built on. About four hours later, he checked his phone and found out what had happened to his home and neighbors. "Some of them dont have insurance, and theyve lost everything they worked all their lives for. The 60-year-old told WPLG she had to climb over rubble through the dark with her dog. Rest of collapsed Miami tower brought down with explosives; 121 still missing. Survivors recounted hearing signs of the collapse and attempting to escape the building early Thursday morning. Firefighterseventuallyrescued him from his fourth-floor balcony. The structural engineer has been around for a while. I lived there by myself. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Susana, I'm so sorry for everything you've lost. It's like a motor it just goes fast, fast, fast," he said, adding that they don't even know where to start. 903 of the Champlain Towers South. "I walked out with my pajamas and my phone.". You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! At least 34 lawsuits have been filed by families of victims since the collapse, accusing building officials, the condo board and others of ignoring structural defects. 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. The 25-year-old caught up with his mom and sister and they continued to run from the scene. "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. Just white, concrete dust," he said. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks to ABC News for an interview on "Good Morning America" on June 25, 2021. We're going to hear now from one of the survivors of that collapse. "People didn't want to answer they didn't know what was going on outside.". Instead she's been sleeping in a chair, constantly thinking of the victims who couldn't escape. Only three survived the initial collapse. "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. About three dozen people were able to escape from the portion of the building that remained standing. I left my cat behind. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in Miami-Dade County "to provide assistance for the families impacted by the Surfside tragedy," according to the order issued Thursday evening. When I opened the door to my apartment, it leads to a long hallway, and all I saw was debris, Osin-Cohen told"Today. How many people survived the Surfside condo collapse? Most people who have contacted his nonprofit for help lived in the part that is still standing but assume their homes and anything inside are a complete loss. The couple fled down the emergencystairwell, but couldn't open the lobby door. Once in her apartment, they made their way to the balcony and flagged down firefighters who rescued them. And there were two men and a young man with us, and they were helping us. We took out $15 million to fix that building at his say-so. Susana, I want to ask you, first of all, how are you doing? 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. The couple lived in apartment No. Coco, a black and white tuxedo cat, was left behind after her 89-year-old owner was pulled to safety from her fourth floor apartment. An eyeglass store refilled her prescription, even though she never called it in. I mean, this doesn't just happen. "I'm on the phone with 911. Her apartment was on the 10th floor and she knew many people in the building she had lived in for years. A Florida judge on Thursday approvedasettlement of more than $1 billionto families who lost loved ones in the collapse of the beachfront condominium building. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Surfside condo collapse victim Luis Pettengill played college tennis at Indianas Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 2007. 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. A woman who survived the collapse of a condo building in Florida has shared how she escaped. "Nothing's ruled out. 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. When they opened their door, they sawsky and beach where their neighbors doors had once stood. "We tried knocking on people's doors," Gabe said. What are you thinking at this moment? It was not a clap of thunder and it wasn't a storm; it was something else," Albert Aguero told ABC News' T.J. Holmes in an interview Friday on "Good Morning America.". (Liyah Deveaux) By KELLI KENNEDY. And their daughter was staying there. "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. 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.. She kept telling me what to do. What we know about the building collapse so far. "We said, 'We have to run, don't take anything,'" Longobardi recalled during an interview Friday on "GMA" with ABC News' T.J. Holmes. Yes, I want answers. Neither he nor the company, in its press release, made any mention of the 98 people who perished. "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. Susana Alvarez is 62. At that point, I turned around. And again, I'm staying in the area. The 101-pageproposal included provisions helping ensure corporations stay up to speed on maintenance and inspections. "We're just lost. GARCIA-NAVARRO: There's been a lot of news coming out about why this might have happened. And there was maybe two apartments left in my floor, and I banged on their doors. My balcony doors opened. I thought a bomb - I mean, that was my first - when I saw that building missing, I mean, I was like, I have to get out of here. After he saw the damage on TV, De Moura said he had to drive his car to the condo building to see it for himself. And the fire escape door wouldn't open, but I saw people on the other side, and I banged. It was like 'Titanic,'" she said. Rescue crews . Still, friends and even complete strangers have been helping replace what she's lost. What did you see? or redistributed. A total of 98 people died when the building partially collapsed on June 24, 2021. But the staircase directly outside their unit was collapsing, he said, so they had to find another one. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. Furniture sits perched in the remains of apartments sheared in half, in the still standing portion of the Champlain Towers South condo building, more than a week after it partially collapsed. ALVAREZ: I am near the building. Im like, All right, Im in the middle of it. All Rights Reserved. Raysa Rodriguez, a retired postal worker who lived at Champlain Towers South for 17 years and was close to paying off her mortgage, described in a lawsuit she filed against the condominium association how crashing sounds roused her from bed the night of the collapse. All I saw was cement, rubble, wood, people yelling Help me,' Rosenthal said. That was my home. They were both identified by the Miami-Dade Police Department on June 26. GARCIA-NAVARRO: So what does that make you think? Condo building's collapse prompts historic search-and-rescue response 4:54 p.m. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And for more information or to report the status of Champlain Tower residents who are unaccounted for, please call 305-614-1819 or 305-993-1071. Rodriguez helped neighbors escape to a second-floor balcony where firefighters helped them to the ground. And 156 people are still unaccounted for. 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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. Albert Aguero and his family had asimilarclose call. Like, you feel like an earthquake is happening right in front of you," he said. Emergency personnel work at the site of a partially collapsed building in Surfside near Miami Beach, Fla., June 24, 2021. I can't even explain it. Did Mavericks kneel during national anthem. 00:49. "Panic starts to set in, like we need to really run, because I don't know if the rest of it is coming down. Profiles of the 98 victims of the Surfside collapse in Florida | Miami Herald. Those are people I say hello to. ALVAREZ: Not to that extent. In the first 48 hours, we obviously did not have all the resources, Burkett, the mayor, told USA Today. Miami condo owners warned of major structural damage in 2018. Sara and Eyal Nir have six kids and two of them, Gabe and Chani, moved into the condominium building with them. The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. Teams of firefighters have been cutting through the layers of debris with various machinery and using sonar devices as well as specially trained dogs as part of the search efforts, a process that Jadallah said is "slow and methodical." They were always, always offering assistance. ", 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. ABC News' Eliana Larramendia Boyd, Kendall Coughlin, Alexandra Faul, Christopher Godburn, Joshua Hoyos, Aaron Katersky, Rachel Katz, Katie Kindelan,. July 14, 2021 / 6:01 AM / CBS Miami. Please enter valid email address to continue. "It's very hard for us to even think about these people that are not there with us anymore," he said. And that, to me, is the worst thing, and that's all I want back. Yes. 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. A 2020 study conducted by Shimon Wdowinski, a professor at Florida International University's Institute of Environment in Miami, found signs of land subsidence in from 1993 to 1999 in the area where the Champlain Towers South condominium is located. All rights reserved. The roof was also undergoing work and the entire building had been under scrutiny due to potential construction projects nearby, officials said. "There was no . "It felt like the whole building was shaking," Schechter said, adding that she went to look out the window. "We were screaming 'Help! 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. Legal Statement. And the building was covered with smoke - smoke everywhere. She quickly grabbed her dog and tried to evacuate, along with other residents, down the only staircase that was available. Direktor said the construction plans had already been submitted to the Town of Surfside but the only work that had begun was on the roof. We reached out to a Surfside spokesperson for a response but did not hear back. 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.. I really didn't think anything of it. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. What we know about the building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida. And when we got outside again, all I could hear were the people screaming. Meanwhile, another 120 people have been accounted for, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The family reached the third floor, where they helped a young woman and an elderly residentget to the ground floor. The Miami-Dade Police Department is leading an investigation into the incident. Yes. "I said, 'Oh my god, where's the building? The remaining portion of the structure was demolished on July 4, and search efforts shifted into recovery mode. "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. She then went down to the garage to discover it was flooded with water upto her ankles. But I am homeless right now. "It was like a really loud clap of thunder. Despite a search and rescue effort that went on for weeks, no signs of life were found past the morning of the collapse on June 24. He said there was water damage to the complex, but that is common for oceanfront properties and wouldn't have caused the collapse. I (opened) the doors and a wall of dust hit me," she said in the filing. With her dog in her arms, she had to climb through rubble and over cars to escape. "Nothing like this has ever been seen, at least not in the 40 years I've been doing this," Direktor told ABC News. 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. In the early morning hours of June 24, Sara, Gabe and Chani were home but all three had a reason to be awake later than usual. 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But on Thursday, exactly two weeks after the 12-story .
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