One death has been confirmed, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said there would not be another update until 7 a.m. ET Friday.
Cava did say at 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday that rescuers would be working into the night trying to find anyone who may still be trapped.
Rescue teams are using sonar devices to listen for signs of movement in the rubble, but Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah at a news conference said they do not hear voices.
“We did receive sounds. Not necessarily people talking, but, sounds,” Jadallah said. He said the bangs could be people, but there’s no way to be sure.
Crews are now facing the perilous task of creeping through the compromised Champlain Towers South Condo. A video posted on Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Twitter page shows responders knee-deep in water working on a section of the building where the roof has sunk to eye-level.
#MDFR#TRT & #FLTF1 are working in the basement parking garage at Champlain Towers. Firefighters continue working on locating possible victims, while dealing with heavy damage and changing conditions in the parking garage. #SurfsideBuildingCollapsepic.twitter.com/qseknk0T8q
— Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire) June 24, 2021
“Every time we make a breach underneath the ground we do have some debris that rains down on the firefighters,” Jadallah said.
“I couldn’t walk out past my doorway,” said Barry Cohen, 63, the former vice mayor of Surfside. “A gaping hole of rubble.”
The couple returned upstairs, screaming for help. There were eventually brought to safety on a cherry-picker that firefighters used to lower people to the ground, he said.
This aerial photo shows part of the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that collapsed early Thursday, June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
“I see many people on their balconies,” the first responder told dispatch. “The building is gone, there’s just nothing. I mean it almost resembles the [World] Trade Center.”
The big question is why the building collapsed, and Cava was not ready to answer that at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
“We want to understand what happened but also what risks there might be for the remaining buildings,” she said. “So it’s a structural engineering question.”
Miami-Dade police will not begin their investigation into the cause until the search and rescue teams finish their mission.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who toured the scene, said television did not capture the scale of what happened.
Rescue crews are “doing everything they can to save lives. That is ongoing, and they’re not going to rest,” he said.
Community leaders are stepping up to help victims’ families. Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro and assistant coaches Chris Quinn and Eric Glass donated a truck with food and water.
“This has been a very sad day for us in our community,” Miami-Dade Board Chairman Jose Diaz said. “But it’s also a day that we can see this community come together and provide the very best in support of a very bad and ugly situation.”
This aerial photo shows part of the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that collapsed early Thursday, June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
This aerial photo shows part of the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that collapsed early Thursday, June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
People look at the damage at the 12-story oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that collapsed early Thursday, June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Fla.
Items and debris dangle from a section of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South Condo that partially collapsed Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami, Fla. (Susan Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Household items and debris dangle from a partially collapsed multistory beachfront condo, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Fire rescue personnel conduct a search and rescue with dogs through the rubble of the Champlain Towers South Condo after the multistory building partially collapsed in Surfside, Fla., Thursday, June 24, 2021. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
People look at the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., Thursday, June 24, 2021. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
A Miami-Dade Police helicopter flies over the Champlain Towers South Condo after the multistory building partially collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
Jennifer Carr, right, sits with her daughter as they wait for news at a family reunification center, after a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Carr and her family were evacuated from a nearby building. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Cousins Andrea and Nellie Gonzalez wait for news at a family reunification center, after a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. They are vacationing from Wisconsin and had to be evacuated from a nearby building. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Fire rescue personnel conducting search and rescue walk back with their dogs to Champlain Towers South Condo after a wing of the multistory building collapsed, in Surfside, Fla., Thursday, June 24, 2021. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
A woman reacts as she looks at a partially collapsed building, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. A wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed with a roar in a town outside Miami early Thursday, trapping residents in rubble and twisted metal. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center left, and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez, center right, arrive for a news conference near the scene where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Rescue worker walk among the rubble where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)