(Surfside, FL) -- At least 99 people remain unaccounted for following the early morning collapse of a 12-story building just north of Miami Beach. The Washington Post was told by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman that dozens are presumed missing as they have not checked in with officials or called family or friends.
A massive search and rescue operation is underway right now, and crews are tunneling under the building in a desperate effort to find survivors.
One person has been confirmed dead, 35 others have been rescued. More than 80 rescue teams are scrambling to find people trapped in the oceanside condo tower in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, which has 136 units.
There's no word yet on how many people were living in the building at the time of the incident overnight, Mayor Charles Burkett said this morning, "This is a horrific catastrophe. In the United States, buildings just don't fall down." He said in no uncertain terms, "It looks like a bomb went off."
Champlain Towers South was built in 1981 and is located near the corner of 88th St. and Collins Avenue collapsed Thursday morning around 2 a.m. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue sergeant said the entire backside of the building collapsed into a huge pile of rubble. There's no word on the cause.
Families who can't reach their loved ones can call a Reunification Hotline at 305-614-1819.