DEVELOPING (Updated June 25, 11:43 A.M.): Around 1:30 AM on June 24, 2021 the 12-story Champlain Towers South Condo, located at 8777 Collins Ave. in Surfside, FL collapsed, leaving 4 dead and 159 reported missing as of 11 A.M. on June 25, 2021. At least 35 people have been rescued from being trapped in the building and rescue operations are underway.

Rescue teams of 10-12 rescuers are attempting to tunnel under the remaining structure into the rubble to locate additional survivors with the help of search dogs. Teams are using sonar as the carefully tunnel into the rubble with saws and infrared cameras. The work is a brave, desperate search for life, putting the rescue teams in peril of potential shifting rubble or the remaining structure to collapse.

Of the 136-units in the building, 55 were destroyed in the collapse. Authorities still have no idea how many people were in the building at the time of collapse and fear that the death toll could continue to rise.

Over 80 rescue units reportedly responded to the disaster. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett and Governor Ron DeSantis were on-site Thursday. American Red Cross volunteers are assisting people who have lost their homes or been displaced by the disaster.

Authorities have not identified what may have caused the collapse and an investigation may take several weeks to months.

Champlain Towers South was developed in 1981 by Nathan Reiber and is part of a condominium complex with two additional separate buildings on adjacent lots. Champlain Towers South featured 136-units ranging from one-to-four bedroom floorpans which range in size from 1,200 SF to 4,500 SF. The building was undergoing its 40-year recertification, which is a one year process to complete, and was also undergoing restoration and roof work at the time of the collapse.