Miami building collapse: British woman and family reported to be among 159 people still missing

US Correspondent Emma Murphy has the latest on the search for survivors in treacherous conditions

A British woman is among 159 people still missing after a beachfront apartment block collapsed in Florida in the early hours of Thursday.

At least four people were killed and many others were pulled from rubble after a wing of the 12-storey building in the community of Surfside near Miami came down around 1.30am.

British mother, Bhavna Patel, along with her husband and daughter, are among those unaccounted for.

The Foreign Office say they are supporting the family of the British woman.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman following the residential building collapse in Miami and our Consulate in Miami is in contact with the local authorities conducting the search and rescue operation.”

The sister of Paraguay's first lady is also confirmed to be missing in the disaster.

Of those originally potentially missing, 120 have now been accounted for.

A state of emergency has been declared following the building collapse, with president Joe Biden agreeing to send resources to the area.

• Emma Murphy is in Miami where concerns about the structural safety of what's left of the building is slowing down the rescue effort

Personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are being sent to Miami in order to assist those on site carrying out a search and rescue operation.

Miami-Dade mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said: "We still have hope that we will find people alive."

Ms Levine Cava added that rescue workers had heard sounds at the site overnight while searching for people among the rubble.

TV footage showed beds, tables and chairs inside as air conditioners hung from some parts of the building, where wires dangled. Officials did not know how many were in the tower when it fell. The building keeps a log of guests, but it does not keep track of when owners are in residence.

Surfside mayor Charles Burkett said: “The building is literally pancaked.

“That is heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean, to me, that we are going to be as successful as we wanted to be in finding people alive.”

Rescue dogs search in the rubble of the collapsed building for survivers

Hours after the collapse, searchers were trying to reach a trapped child whose parents were believed to be dead.

In another case, rescuers saved a mother and child, but the woman’s leg had to be amputated to remove her from the rubble, Frank Rollason, director of Miami-Dade emergency management, told the Miami Herald.

Teams were trying to enter the building from a parking garage beneath the structure, although weather conditions are said to be hampering the operation.

"These are very difficult times, and things are going to get more difficult as we move forward," Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez said.

Governor Ron DeSantis, who toured the scene, said television did not capture the scale of what happened.

Rescue crews are “doing everything they can to save lives. That is ongoing, and they’re not going to rest,” he said.

Hotels opened to some displaced residents, the mayor said, and deliveries of food, medicine and more were being hastily arranged.

Rescuers pulled at least 35 people from the rubble by mid-morning on Thursday, and heavy equipment was being brought in to help stabilise the structure to provide more access, Raide Jadallah of Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue said.

Nicholas Fernandez spent hours after the collapse trying to call two friends who were staying in the building with their young daughter.

The family had come to the United States to avoid the Covid-19 outbreak in their home country of Argentina, said Mr Fernandez.

“The hope is that, perhaps, someone hears the call. I know there are dogs inside,” he said.

“I know it may sound ridiculous what I’m saying but there’s always hope until we hear different.”

A total of 22 South Americans were missing in the collapse — nine from Argentina, six from Paraguay, four from Venezuela and three from Uruguay, according to officials in those countries.

Surfside city commissioner Eliana Salzhauer told WPLG that the building’s county-mandated 40-year re-certification process was ongoing.

Ms Salzhauer said the process was believed to be proceeding without difficulty. A building inspector was on-site Wednesday.

She said: “I want to know why this happened. That’s really the only question … And can it happen again? Are any other of our buildings in town in jeopardy?”