To Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]
After the early hours of Thursday morning an apartment building in the community of Surfside, Miami, South Florida, partially collapsed, consulates of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Colombia reported that at least 30 nationals are missing.
According to local media, there are nine Argentines, six Paraguayans, six Colombians, six Venezuelans and three Uruguayans.
So far, more than 80 rescue units have responded to the disaster, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue reported. The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined, and investigations and rescue efforts will continue.
At least four people are known to be dead and 159 are missing after the 12-storey building collapsed.
In statements to the newspaper 'The Miami Herald', the spokesman for emergency services, Ray Jadallah, confirmed that about 55 apartments collapsed early Thursday morning, around 1:30 local time, leaving a large mountain of debris in the Surfside neighborhood.
Most residents in the building, called Champlain Towers South, were asleep when the incident took place.
The rescue could take weeks
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the site Thursday afternoon and called the collapse "truly dramatic," and reported that the Red Cross is placing victims in hotels.
Equipment was brought to the area, but Surfside Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer said search and rescue operations could take days, according to NBC News.
"It could be weeks before we really know who is under the rubble, who survived, who did not survive," as the thunderstorm that has fallen in recent hours caused an interruption of the work, which also involves a special team of search dogs, he said.
Several Latinos in the collapse
The Paraguayan Foreign Ministry reported that at least six Paraguayans were in the building when it collapsed, including Sophia Lopez Moreira, sister of the first lady, Silvana de Lopez Moreira.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that six Colombians were residing in the property, and it is still being verified whether they were in the place at the time of the events.
On the other hand, sources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina said, in statements to the agency Télam, that 10 Argentines were in the apartments, although one of them was rescued; the rest are still missing.
For his part, U.S. President Joe Biden said the government is prepared to intervene in the area, so it is expected that today is declared a state of emergency in Florida, which would release funds for aid.
"I tell the people of Florida that the federal government can give them all the help they need," the president said at a press conference.
Subsequently, the governor of Florida declared a state of emergency because of the event, as the mayor of Miami-Dade had requested, so now she will be able to receive help from the federal government.
With information from CNN, NBC News and Europa Press.
