Miami building collapse: Tourist reveals she tried to shout up and warn residents but they didn’t understand her waves
A couple who witnessed the collapse of Champlain Towers South say they tried to warn residents just before the building fell, but to no avail.
Adriana Sarmiento and Roberto Castillero were staying at a hotel near the condo on the night it crumbled, and filmed the horrifying moments just before and after the disaster.
The pair filmed the first video just after hearing a loud crash from the bottom of the building, which startled some residents into coming out onto their balconies. Moments later, the couple recorded what appeared to be large amounts of water and debris pouring into the basement garage.
Ms Sarmiento told CNN that she and Mr Castillero tried to get the attention of the people on the balconies, waving their arms and shouting at them to leave the building.
But the residents didn’t understand them, Ms Sarmiento says, and moments later the building came crashing down.
Mr Castillero says he doesn’t remember much of what happened next.
“Dust, and then glass, rock, and then I started running for my life,” he told CNN.
The couple’s next video shows an enormous pile of rubble where Champlain Towers used to be, along with the sound of Ms Sarmiento weeping.
“They died, they all died,” she can be heard saying through tears.
“I said, ‘Where are the people on the balcony?’” Castillero later told CNN. “I did not realize that the balcony was not there.”
At least 18 people died in the collapse, and 145 are still missing. A massive search and rescue effort is now in its ninth day, though no survivors have been found since the first hours after the disaster.
The shellshocked couple is still haunted by what they saw.
“For me, it’s been very difficult thinking of everyone who lived there,” Ms Sarmiento told CNN.
The couple’s videos may prove to be important evidence as investigators look into what caused the collapse. Multiple experts believe the implosion started at the bottom of the building, where the pair’s first video showed the gushing water.
Documents unearthed by USA Today have also shown that a contractor, Morabito Consultants, found such serious deterioration in the building’s pool area – just above the basement garage – that it feared repairs “could affect the stability” of other parts of the building.
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