Survivors recount horror of Surfside building collapse: 'We - ABC News Ryan Logan, the American Red Cross' regional disaster officer for south Florida, said the organization has been helping about 18 families, and some of them have been looking for ways they can help other victims. I wish I had had different shoes on, he said, noting he was wearing flip flops at the time. (AP), LIVE UPDATES: SURFSIDE CONDO BUILDING COLLAPSE. How long can survivors of Miami high-rise collapse survive under rubble? 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. 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. Albert and Janette Aguero suddenly awoke early Thursday to what they said sounded like a "really loud clap of thunder." Miami Building Collapse - The New York Times I closed the balcony doors. The family's condo was on the ninth floor of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. 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. I - and I just want my cat back. And I ran out the front door. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Can you tell us what happened? (Liyah Deveaux) By KELLI KENNEDY. Rodriguez helped neighbors escape to a second-floor balcony where firefighters helped them to the ground. No one ever, ever, ever told us that this - that that building was in such bad shape - no one, no one. Search for bodies concludes in Surfside condo collapse Florida Gov. Gabe said his family knew many people in that community. And I don't know - we just - we climbed out of rubble. No other survivors were found even after an international coalition of rescue workers labored for two weeks, working 24 hours a day, to dig through a 40-foot high pile of rubble. Jadallah told reporters that at least 11 people were medically assessed and treated on site, four of whom were then transported to local hospitals. 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. "It could have been a very different thing," Janette Aguero said, her voice wavering with emotion. Miami condo collapse: Survivors escape with their lives, but little At that point, I turned around. There was nothing there, and people were screaming. Surfside Resident Who Survived Condominium Collapse Wants Answers They are. June 24: At around 1:20 a.m., while many residents were sleeping, the condo tower shakes and then partially collapses, destroying about 55 apartment units. 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.". Death Toll Climbs To 18 In The Surfside Condo Collapse, With 145 Missing One provision stipulates that condos taller than three stories must be inspected every ten years. Still, friends and even complete strangers have been helping replace what she's lost. Recordings of 911 calls released from the scene of the Florida condominium building collapse reveal the chaos and . SURFSIDE As many as nine of the 98 victims who died in the worst building collapse in modern U.S. history might have survived the initial cave-in, a USA Today investigation suggests . She quickly grabbed her dog and tried to evacuate, along with other residents, down the only staircase that was available. My balcony doors opened. With Eyal traveling for work often, Gabe told CBS News he decided to live with his mom and teen sister to help them out. Photos: Florida beachfront condo collapses, Surfside mourns victims as death toll nears 100, One year later, Surfside survivors recall collapse and healing journey, Memorial held for victims of the Surfside tragedy on anniversary of the condo collapse, Judge approves $1 billion settlement in deadly Florida condo collapse, "Voice in the rubble" victim of Surfside condo collapse is identified, Lawsuit claims construction triggered deadly condo collapse, history of maintenance and structural concerns. Firefighterseventuallyrescued him from his fourth-floor balcony. About three dozen people were able to escape from the portion of the building that remained standing. I could hear them screaming. They have been hampered by torrential rain and fires and have had to move with excruciating care. Those are our neighbors. The 12-story residential complex in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, partially collapsed before 1:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. And I - my apartment is in the front of the building, and it's right across the elevators. And I remember telling 911, 'I can't explain anything right now, you guys have to come here ASAP,'" he said. Dubai-based DAMAC Properties won a $120 million bid to acquire the 1.8 acres. An investigation by USA Today found that at least nine of the 98 people killed in the tragedy initially survived the June 24 collapse, including one woman who was possibly still alive under the rubble 10 hours later. Did you encounter any technical issues? Where victims and survivors lived in Champlain Towers South condo 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. Gabe told his sister to leave the apartment with him, and when they got to the lobby, they joined their mom and started to run. "We were just tremendously lucky.". We had to wait for fire rescue to come up with the ladder. Anyone with family members from the condominium who are either safe or still missing is urged to call 305-614-1819 to account for them. They were both identified by the Miami-Dade Police Department on June 26. The announcement came after search and rescue operations were paused for hours because of growing signs the structure was dangerously unstable. Then their bedroom began to shake. And please understand that I don't care - everything I lost in that condo, including my parents' wedding rings and my father's 18-karat gold watch from Cuba that was engraved and all that - I don't care. Thats what saved me. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. An eyeglass store refilled her prescription, even though she never called it in. "I'm having a hard time [getting] to sleep. When you start hitting seven days, that really goes down." Survival depends on several factors - mainly access to air and water, ability to regulate body temperature, pre-existing health conditions, injuries sustained during the collapse, and mental will to live. "I looked to the left and the apartment to our left was half sheared off. Alfredo Lopez and his wife describe how they escaped the crumbling Champlain Towers South on June 24, 2021. ", VIDEO SHOWS WATER GUSHING INTO GARAGE BEFORE SURFSIDE BUILDING FELL. Florida Condo Collapse Survivor Climbed Through Rubble With - Insider I want major answers. And my mom decided to stay later at her event, my sister decided to come back home late," he said. Published It's not known if those factors played a role in the collapse. 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. Which of the following structure contains osteocytes? I mean, I know that sounds silly, but that's all I want, my cat back. "Pancake collapses tend to 'stack' floors on themselves, bringing all their weight down nearly square on the . "As soon as she goes down to the front, I hear this loud rumble. Hes based in Tallahassee. Sharon Schechter, 60, described her escape to WPLG, saying she believes she was only one of two people who survived from her floor when the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South near Miami partially collapsed early Thursday morning. With 4 confirmed dead, 159 unaccounted for, officials vow to keep "People didn't want to answer they didn't know what was going on outside.". Surfside condo collapse: What we know one year later - Tallahassee Democrat They were screaming, help, help. WOMAN TRAPPED IN CONDO RUBBLE PLEADED WITH RESCUERS TO SAVE HER. 00:25. A family who survived the Surfside condominium collapse said they were mere feet from losing their lives. The identification brings the total death toll to. But I am homeless right now. Search and rescue personnel work onsite after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. Miami-Dade County officials are aware of the study and are "looking into" it, Levine Cava told ABC News. Copyright 2021 NPR. Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with her life and almost nothing else. I think that it was a progressive evolution, and every hour that went by, we continued to add resources.. I couldnt tell where it was coming from.. 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. ALVAREZ: I was only thinking of myself. Surfside condo collapse victim Luis Pettengill played college tennis at Indianas Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 2007. , even as police and forensic specialists continue working to identify human remains. Did anyone survive the Surfside collapse? The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. 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. They're working around the clock and they're using every possible tool," she added. 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. Boy, 15, rescued from Miami condo collapse was sitting next to mom in Son shares how family survived Surfside condo building collapse 03:11 About six months ago, the Nir family moved to Surfside, Florida. Meanwhile, another 120 people have been accounted for, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Im in a dream in California. She then went down to the garage to discover it was flooded with water upto her ankles. He followed the sound and located 15-year-old Jonah Handler, whose hand and fingers were visibly wiggling through the wreckage. We took out $15 million to fix that building at his say-so. They then descended to the garage where they encountered shin-deep water, ultimatelyescaping Alfredo with a woman frozen from shock hoisted over his shoulder through an opening in acrumbled wall. Its not like her, and its not like me, and when I woke up at 5:30, I understood why.. And I feel like fate really God really came and saved us," he said. And I hear car alarms going off, I see lights flashing everywhere. Rest of collapsed Miami tower brought down with explosives; At a news conference Monday, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that the final missing persons family had been notified following the identification of the individuals remains, formally ending the search. I won't leave. Neither he nor the company, in its press release, made any mention of the 98 people who perished. This is a 1 in 10,000 year earthquake that hits Florida.. she told WPLG. U.S. President Joe Biden subsequently approved an emergency declaration in Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts in the wake of the partial building collapse. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. ", Longobardi, who is a civil engineer, said they found a staircase that was completely intact and he quickly checked for cracks or other signs of damage before they used it to escape. What are the survivors - you know, you - who managed to get out, what are you talking about? Miami Condo Building Collapse: Updates, Demolition Video - Intelligencer The Associated Press contributed to this story. or redistributed. And we went down the stairs. Initially, 150 people were thought to be missing. Several of their pets also went missing. That is what they said, OK? Survivors of the Florida condo collapse describe the whole building