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Fallen condo tower drew global visitors

China Daily | Updated: 2021-06-26 09:09
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Rescuers work on site after a partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, on Thursday. Officials have reported at least four people dead and 159 missing. [Photo/AFP]

Biden approves Florida emergency declaration as search continues for more survivors

The Champlain Towers South drew people from around the world to enjoy life on South Florida's Atlantic coast. They include a couple from Argentina and their young daughter. There were Orthodox Jews from Russia. Some Israelis. The sister of Paraguay's first lady and a gaggle from South America.

They were among the 159 people who remained missing on Friday, a day after the 12-story building collapsed into rubble early on Thursday. The Champlain's beach side sheared off for seemingly no reason, pancaking into a pile of concrete and metal more than 10 meters high.

At least four people had been confirmed dead, and officials fear the number could easily skyrocket. Eleven were reported injured, with four people treated at nearby hospitals.

"Everything is gone," said Erick de Moura, 40, who was at the town's community center trying to find temporary accommodation. The Brazilian had lived for three years on the 10th floor of the oceanfront building.

He survived because he had decided to stay at his girlfriend's house that night. "I am homeless now. I lost my papers, documents, everything. My green card, my money," he said. "I just came back and the scene is shocking. There is a lot of pain. I'm blessed that I am alive."

As for his neighbors, he said: "I think they're gone."

US President Joe Biden on Friday approved an emergency declaration in Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts.

Rescue crews picked through tons of rubble on Thursday looking for survivors at the oceanfront apartment tower. Officials said no cause for the collapse has been determined. Officials said the tower was undergoing roof construction and other repairs.

Video of the collapse showed the center of the building appearing to tumble down first. A section nearest the ocean teetered and came down seconds later, as a huge dust cloud swallowed the neighborhood. About half the building's roughly 130 units were affected.

"We do have 120 people now accounted for, which is very, very good news. But our unaccounted for number has gone up to 159," Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference on Friday.

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