4 dead, 11 hurt, 159 unaccounted for in high-rise collapse near Miami Beach

A desperate search for survivors of the Florida condo collapse entered a second day Friday as the number of those dead and unaccounted for continued to rise.

Raide Jadallah, the assistant chief of operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, told reporters during a morning news conference that the death toll had increased from one to four overnight after authorities pulled three bodies from the rubble of the 12-story building in Surfside, a town near Miami Beach.

There were 127 people accounted for from the building and 159 people unaccounted for, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Friday. Previously, there were 102 people accounted for from the building and 99 people unaccounted for, she said.

"We will continue search and rescue because we still have hope that we will find people alive," she said. "That is exactly why we're continuing."

The latest developments:

• At least 159 people were unaccounted for, 11 others were injured, and four people were killed after a building partially collapsed near Miami Beach.

• The cause of the collapse was unclear, but scientists have long noted the risk of building on shifting sands of a barrier island like Miami Beach.

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology is doing an initial assessment at the site, which could prompt an investigation to inform future building codes— the same work that was done after terrorists brought down the World War Trade Center's twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

• A resident filed a $5 million class-action lawsuit against the building's condominium association, alleging that the organization did not adequately protect its residents or repair structural issues.

• President Joe Biden approved federal aid to help support state and local rescue efforts.

The slow and methodical search for survivors involves rescue teams searching from below — using a parking garage — as well as from the top of the destruction, according to Levine Cava.

"We're using our dogs and our sonar and our cameras — everything possible — to seek places where they may be people still to be found," she said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Andy Alvarez told NBC's "TODAY" show Friday that the massive rescue effort has been a "nonstop, 24-hour operation," adding that busted water pipes, downed electric lines and crumbled cars were among some of the challenges facing emergency personnel.

"What you see obviously through helicopters and what you see on the street is one thing," he said. "We have a completely different view of what we're actually doing from underneath, trying to get to those places where there's a chance of survival and finding people that are still alive."

Authorities, however, had no insight Friday on what caused 55 of the 136 units in the Champlain Towers South's northeast corridor to collapse about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

Scientists have long noted the risk of building on the shifting sands of a barrier island like Miami Beach, especially with rising sea levels. While it may not be the reason for the collapse, scientists said the conditions continue to present an engineering challenge in the region.

"We'll have to figure out why did this happen, and that answer isn't necessarily apparent right now, but it will be identified," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. "Anyone who was affected by this directly wants that answer but also we need to know is this a bigger issue or is this something unique to the building?"

DeSantis issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency after visiting the site Thursday.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is sending a team of six to the site of the collapse, according to Jennifer Huergo, a spokesperson for the federal agency.

After the team does its initial assessment, it will decide whether to do a complete investigation that would likely inform future building codes — the kind of work that was done after terrorists brought down the World Trade Center’s twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, she said.

Less than a day after a portion of the Surfside high-rise was reduced to rubble, a resident filed a $5 million class-action lawsuit against the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association Inc. The defendant alleged that the organization did not adequately protect its residents or repair structural issues, which led to "one of the most breathtakingly frightening tragedies in the history of South Florida," according to the lawsuit.

Donna Berger, an attorney for Becker, a law firm that has worked for the building since 1993, said that it was "disappointing" to direct the focus away from rescue efforts when more than 100 people were still unaccounted for.

“I feel as a culture, we’ve become so accustomed from moving from one tragic event to another, and there’s often a rush to judgment," she said. "Certainly, if there’s culpable parties, they should be held accountable, but first and foremost our focus is on the search and rescue efforts.”

“How in the span of less than a day could an attorney file a lawsuit alleging anything? Every expert on the site doesn’t know what happened, yet some attorney has decided that he has figured this all out,” Berger said.

Over 20 Jewish people were believed to be among the missing, Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told NBC News on Friday.

"We don't yet know if they hold Israeli citizenship," he added. "We're looking into it."Israel's consul general in Miami was working with the Jewish and wider South Floridan community to provide support, he said.

Colombia's Foreign Ministry also tweeted that at least six nationals were known to reside in the building at the time of its collapse. The foreign ministry said it would work with local officials and provide updates and support.

At least 22 South American nationals were missing since the building gave way — nine from Argentina, six from Paraguay, four from Venezuela and three from Uruguay, according to officials in those countries, The Associated Press reported.

Relatives of the first lady of Paraguay were among the dozens unaccounted for in the collapse. In interviews Thursday, Euclides Acevedo, Paraguay’s foreign minister, identified the missing family members as Sophia López Moreira, the sister of first lady Silvana López Moreira, and her husband, Luis Pettengill — both members of President Mario Abdo Benítez’s family. Their three children and Lady Luna Villalba, a worker accompanying the family, were also missing, Acevedo said.

Surfside Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer said search and rescue operations could "play out for days."

"I mean, could be weeks until we really know who is under the rubble, who survived, who didn't survive," Salzhauer said. "There's a lot of people unaccounted for, lot of families very concerned."

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center said it received three patients, including two listed in critical condition. In an update Friday, the hospital said it does not currently have patients from the collapse and did not have consent to release further details.

Drone video showed an aerial video of the high-rise, a once L-shaped building that lost its entire northeast-facing corridor, which made up nearly half the building.

Emergency crews were going from balcony to balcony with a fire ladder on the side of the building that was left standing, looking for people who might be trapped.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was on the scene near 88th Street and Collins Avenue with more than 80 fire rescue units involved, the agency said. That included a technical rescue team that is trained in the removal of victims trapped in complex or confined spaces, fire officials said.

President Joe Biden approved federal aid for Florida to help support state and local rescue efforts after speaking with Levine Cava on Thursday.

"The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts," the White House said in a statement on Friday.

"We have gotten in touch with FEMA and they are ready to go," he said. "To the people of Florida, whatever help you want the federal government to provide, we are waiting. Just ask us and we will be there."

Records showed the condo complex was built in 1981. The building is across from a beach in the oceanfront community of about 6,000 people.

Salzhauer said the building was undergoing inspection for its 40-year recertification, which takes about a year. A nearby "sister-building," Champlain Towers North, was built around the same time, according to the commissioner.