Fires, shifting materials, Twisted Steel and water up to their waist at some points. Yeah, theyre searching for people in there. Theyre searching for mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, children. Officials say they have heard sounds from underneath the debris. They are not confirming exactly what those sounds are. They said it is very possible the debris moving, metal, concrete, et cetera. But, with that news, Family Members are doing their best to hold on to hope. There is hope. Its just dwindling by the minute. There is a certain hope in the air but it is a very strange kind of a feeling. Ive rarely had this feeling except in the war zone. Were dealing day by day, theyre now finding more and more people and i hope and pray theyre found soon and everything is good. Those poor, poor people. Officials say that President Biden has been receiving updates on this. Hes expected to address the tragedy there later today at the white house. We dont know yet if he will then go on to v
Alive. Families like the spiegels. One second to the next second a dramatic change in life. She was the glue that kept our family together. We are hopeful that today will be the day they find our mom. Shes just the most amazing person in the world, and we would do anything to have her back. The death toll from the Building Collapse up to four this morning. Officials caution it may go much, much higher. The big focus right now, Signs Of Life. But a sad truth this morning from the scene with every hour the rubble grows more quiet. We havent really heard anything in a while now. But thats not to say that theres still not people trapped that are alive for different reasons, you know, they might be obviously as time is running out, they might be getting a little more sick or ill. Not as focussed as they were before, but like i said, were going to keep searching. Nick valencia is there on the scene of the tragedy. Theres so much heart break right now, but also a lot of hope among families wh
Welcome to cnns special live coverage of the tragedy near miami. Im wolf blitzer, near the scene of the 12story condo Building Collapse here in surfside, florida. And im pamela brown in washington. We have a lot of Breaking News to cover this hour, pamela. Well do it together. The Structural Engineering company that inspected the Champlain Towers in 2018 says they also gave estimates back in june of 2020 for the buildings 40year recertification. The consultant only provides Engineering Consulting services, not repair or restoration contracting, the statement said. And they also stated, and im quoting, we are deeply troubled by this Building Collapse and are working closely with the investigating authorities to understand why the structure failed. As we do so, we also continue to pray for all those impacted by this tragic event. Tonight, surfside officials are warning residents of a Sister Building, the Champlain Towers north, and theyre warning them to evacuate now. We have a full team
More than 60 hours since the collapse took place. Rescue teams are battling fires which greatly complicated the effort to find survivors. We are facing incredible difficulties with the fire. The fire has been going on for awhile. It is a very deep fire. It is extremely difficult to locate the source of the fire. There are new concerns about the condos sister building, nearly identical building located a block away from the collapse. Officials are saying that building should be evacuated until a structural investigation can be done. Has the same name, same developer, probably had the same materials. Probably had the same plans. And people are asking me is the building safe. I cant tell them it is safe. I cant tell them that. One of the Big Questions thats outstanding is how this could happen. Were getting details today about exactly what may have been happening in the pool deck of the building. Structural field survey was done in 2018 and warned of cracking in certain columns. An engine
Heartbreaking to speak to the families, to speak to the loved ones who are still missing. It is awful indeed. Like all of the viewers, my heart goes out to them. Jim, we still dont know why or how this happened, but we are learning three years ago an engineer did raise concerns what was described as structural damage of this florida complex behind me. This triggers new concerns about the sister Condo Building just a block away. Theyre telling residents to evacuate out of that building out of an abundance of caution, and theyre also cautioning that it might take months to know for sure what went so horribly wrong here. Some Structural Engineering experts are weighing in. Theyre calling the 2018 report truly alarming. Well have much on that coming up in a few moments. Lets begin with that desperate search for survivors. Dozens are still unaccounted for and their families are growing more worried and more frustrated clearly by the minute. Cnns randi kaye is here at surfside. What are resc