"There were structural issues obviously - the building did collapse," Levine Cava told reporters. Officials said the complex, built in 1981, was going through a recertification process requiring repairs, with another building under construction on an adjacent site. Sally Heyman, a Miami-Dade County commissioner, told CNN early in the day that officials knew of 51 individuals who "supposedly" live in the building, home to a mix of year-round residents and part-time "snow birds" who spend the winter months in Florida. Said Oliver Gilbert, vice chair of the county board of commissioners: "I just have to implore everybody, just pray." "This is a very tragic situation for those families and for the community." "I don't want to set false expectations," he said.
Ramirez said the numbers of known casualties and people missing were likely to fluctuate. "They're in search-and-rescue mode, and they will be in that mode for a while.
Very unstable," Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez said earlier in the day. "Fire and rescue are in there with their search team, with their dogs. Pulled two individuals from the rubble - one of them was dead. Another 102 individuals whose whereabouts were initially unknown have since been located and "declared safe," she said.Ī fire official said earlier that 35 people were evacuated from the portion of the high-rise left standing, and response teams using trained dogs and drones in the search of survivors Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters 99 people remained unaccounted for some 18 hours after the collapse, though some may not have been in the building at the time.