Condo collapse live updates: Scene of the Surfside site after remaining tower demolished

Bianca Padró Ocasio
·2 min read

Rescue crews continue to search through the rubble for survivors at the 12-story oceanfront condo tower that partially collapsed in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach. The rest of Champlain Towers South was demolished Sunday night.

People with loved ones at the condo, missing or safe, should call 305-614-1819 to notify officials. Anyone who lives at the Champlain Towers and is safe is asked to complete a Wellness Check form to help the Miami-Dade County keep track of tenants.

Champlain Towers South collapses near the Eighty Seven Park building under a control demolition Sunday night, July 4, 2021.
Champlain Towers South collapses near the Eighty Seven Park building under a control demolition Sunday night, July 4, 2021.

Here’s what we know so far:

6:30 a.m.: The sun rose over Surfside’s beach around 6:30 a.m., rays reflecting off the glass windows and balconies of the building south of where the Champlain Towers South complex stood for 40 years.

Now, the building is gone. The north view takes the eye straight to the blue-green Solara Surfside Resort building, except for a few dozen palm trees on the site.

The demolition booms from Sunday night gave way Monday morning to the rumble of waves on an otherwise silent shore.

The gap in the Surfside skyline Monday morning after the Champlain Towers South was demolished.
The gap in the Surfside skyline Monday morning after the Champlain Towers South was demolished.

Just several hours earlier, at 10:30 p.m. sharp, officials had used explosives in the base of the partially collapsed structure in a controlled demolition operation that Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava insisted would broaden rescue operations in hard to reach parts of the rubble.

Residents who survived the morning of June 24 had not been allowed in to gather belongings they had left behind before the demolition. A crane dangled over the now-empty lot. A satelite truck blocked off the entrance to the beach.

The pile was not visible from the beach, and just before 7 a.m., no curious beachgoers had approached the scene.

But the rescue work resumed. Authorities told the Miami Herald that teams were back on the scene shortly after the demolition.

Champlain Towers South collapses under a control demolition Sunday night, July 4, 2021.
Champlain Towers South collapses under a control demolition Sunday night, July 4, 2021.
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