Miami Building Collapse: Nine Dead As Rescuers Search For Survivors

KDRTV NEWS: Nine deaths registered in the Miami building collapse, authority reports.

150 people remain uncounted in the building that collapsed in Miami, Florida.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that four bodies have been identified as such for more survivors continues.

“Our top priority continues to be search and rescue and saving any lives that we can,” the Mayor said during a press conference.

The part of the building collapsed on Thursday morning while many residents were still sleeping.

READ ALSO: Miami Building Collapse: 4 Dead, 159 Missing, 102 Accounted For.

KDRTV understands that members of the public had piled pressure on authorities to reveal what caused the collapse.

A 2018 engineer report however indicated some major error in the original design.

The design of the seafront Champlain Towers in the town of Surfside, near Miami, had some errors.

The report revealed that a fault prevents water from draining away from the base of the said building.

Federal assistance has been offered to the Florida Gorvoner Ron DeSantis, said President Jor Biden.

My heart is with the community of Surfside as they grieve their lost loved ones and wait anxiously as search and rescue efforts continue.

Yesterday I spoke with Gov. DeSantis to let him know that we are ready to provide assistance as needed by state and local officials.

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 26, 2021

The rescue crew has been using special dogs, drones, and machines to search for more survivors.

However, the rescue mission was halted for a while during Sartuday when a fire broke out underneath the rumble.

Among the nine recovered bodies include a body of a mother whose son was pulled alive from the rumble on Thursday.

However, the Miami Dade governor has confessed that the process of identifying the bodies is very challenging and would involve DNA testing.

A report has revealed that the missing 150 people include people from Israel and Latin America.

At the same time, Paraguay foreign ministry announced that six of its nationals are missing, among them the sister of the country`s first lady.

In the meantime, locals authorities have afforded accommodation and food to families as they wait for news about their loved ones.

Details of The Engineer`s Report

Engineer Frank Morabito said he had raised an issue of lack of proper drainage as a systematic issue.

“The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas,” he wrote.

He added:

“Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially.”

The engineer also highlighted the major cracking of columns, beams, and walls in the garage.

However, the engineer`s report did not indicate that the building was at a higher risk of collapse.

It is also unclear if the issues highlighted in the report resulted in the partial collapse of the building.

Morabito Consultants later tendered a statement on Twitter confirming that they had written the report in 2018.

The Governor has insisted that anybody affected directly wants the answer and thus promised that authorities will find out what happened.

READ ALSO: New Mexico Crash: At Least 4 Dead in Hot Balloon Crash

55 of the 136 apartments collapsed early Thursday morning.

Many eyewitnesses reported hearing a sound like that of a bomb before coming out to find piles of debris.

“It sounded like thunder, and my wife and I, we went out on the balcony; it looked like a bomb had exploded,” he told the BBC.

Florida International University researchers had warned in 1990 that the building was sinking at a rate of two millimeters per year.

This could have affected the structural paradigm of the building.

KDRTV estAblished that the building was constructed on the reclaimed wetland.