Surfside building collapse first responders having difficulty locating victims in massive debris pile

SURFSIDE, Fla. – Rescue teams have been hard at work at the Surfside site of a horrible building collapse.

Left behind is a massive pile of rubble, with things like mattresses, furniture, family photos, all amongst the debris.

A search remains ongoing for signs of life, and sadly signs of death.

“At this time, we haven’t located any victims,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky.

The collapse site that once looking like concrete pancakes is slowly evolving as teams continue to work through it.

“The void spaces that we keep talking about that I know everybody has been hearing about, those critical spaces where there is potential for people to be, at the moment, if we rush the pile, we have too many people on the pile all at once, that will shift the pile and potentially eliminate void spaces,” said Maggie Castro with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

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From massive machinery to their bare hands, first responders are doing everything they can to remove the debris and look for the people that are still unaccounted for.

“There is no time frame for these types of situations,” said Castro. “We will continue in a rescue mode until we feel we have exhausted every possible opportunity of finding anyone alive.”

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About the Author:

Annaliese Garcia joined Local 10 News in January 2020. Born and raised in Miami, she graduated from the University of Miami, where she studied broadcast journalism. She began her career at Univision. Before arriving at Local 10, she was with NBC2 (WBBH-TV) covering Southwest Florida. She's glad to be back in Miami!