(CNN) – At least 4 people died and 159 were unaccounted for at this time after an area 12-storey apartment building on the Surface, in the Greater Miami area It collapsed early Thursday morning, officials said.
Search and rescue teams have been actively searching for a location near Miami shortly after 55 of the building’s 136 units collapsed at 1:30 p.m.
We know this is missing, Many of them are Latin Americans.
Family of the first lady of Paraguay
Sister and brother-in-law First lady of Paraguay, Sylvana Lopez Morera, who lives with her three children on the tenth floor of a partially collapsed building, has not been able to locate the family by Paraguay’s foreign ministry, the ministry told CNN Espanol.
With them was the family’s nanny, Lidi Vanessa Luna Villalpa, who arrived in Miami on Wednesday on her first trip outside of Paraguay.
The ministry tweeted that a total of six Paraguayans were missing.
Foreign Ministry observers say 6 Paraguayans are still missing after a building collapses in Miami, USA: Soupia Lopez Morera, Lady L. Villalpa and three miners.
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs (remreparaguay) June 24, 2021
Nine Argentines, including a couple and their daughter
A friend said 45-year-old Argentine Andres Kalprascoli, his partner Fabian Nuczes, 55, and his daughter Sofia Kalprascoli Nice, 6, were among the missing.
The trio were on vacation in Florida, staying in the condo of a friend named Nicolas Fernandez.
Fernandez told CNN Espanolle that he had spent time with the couple on Wednesday night and planned to meet on Thursday morning.
“We know nothing, we have no closure, that’s what hurts,” Fernandez told CNN.
Fernandez has been searching for his friends in local hospitals without any luck.
The country’s embassy in Miami said on Twitter that nine Argentines were missing as of Thursday afternoon.
Missing in Venezuela
Venezuelan Director of Diplomatic Affairs Brian Pinseltab tweeted that the embassy had identified six Venezuelans who were not in the collapsed building.
At this time we have 6 Venezuela information not on the slope of the building on the Surface. If you have information about affected Venezuela, please contact 305-614-1819 or contact [email protected]
– rianBrianFincheltub June 24, 2021
Missing Uruguayan citizens
The embassy in Miami said three Uruguayan nationals were missing.
The embassy is in contact with local authorities and the families of the missing, the embassy said in a statement.
“Family members are very concerned because they have not been able to contact them since they became aware of this tragic collapse,” Bouzout said in an audio shared by the embassy with CNN.
Rabbi says the missing are from the Jewish community
Rabbi Sholom Lipsker told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that 99 of the missing were members of The Shool of Paul Harbor Chapel.
“This is something that transcends the ability to understand,” Lipsker said of the collapse. “It’s a fact that we accept it, and to move forward we need to learn how to do it in our resilience culture.”
The level of support is unprecedented, Lipsker said.
“We have more volunteers than we can use. The large hall of our synagogue, which is a huge venue, is packed with blankets, pillows, microwave ovens, chargers, food. This is an extraordinary expression and it is real and honest,” he said.
“The only thing that helps in these times is kindness, empathy and solidarity, because you can’t eliminate reality,” Lipsker said.
For every family member waiting for a loved one’s message, there are about five or six community members who support them.
Missing mother and grandmother
A woman who said she woke up because of noise in the building the night before the collapse disappeared, said her son Pablo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez told CNN’s Erin Burnett that both his mother and grandmother were in the collapsed section at first, and that the family had not heard from them.
“You always have confidence,” he said. “Until we know for good, we’re trying to be optimistic. But after watching the video of the collapse it became more and more difficult because they were in that section that collapsed, the first section collapsed, and then the other building collapsed on top, so it’s not easy to watch.
Rodriguez said he and his mother did not really think about Creek.
“It’s a comment he made in blue, which is why he was awake and then could not go back to sleep, but now, backwards, you always wonder,” he said.
The family is still hopeful for the good news, Rodriguez said.
“We pray for a miracle, but at the same time try to be as realistic as possible,” he said. Until we finally know, there is hope. It is declining by the minute.
Patel family
Vishal Patel, his wife Bhavna Patel and their one-year-old daughter Aishani Patel are believed to be one of the missing, his daughter-in-law Sarina Patel told CNN. She added that Bhavna Patel was four months pregnant.
Cassondra Stratton
Cassondra Stratton, the wife of Michael Stratton, a senior policy adviser at the Brownstein Hyatt Forever Shrek law firm, said her whereabouts were still unknown, her law firm spokeswoman Laura Day told CNN.
Judy Spiegel
Kevin Spiegel, who lived with his wife Judy at Champlain Towers, said he was on a business trip to California when the building collapsed.
When he woke up in the middle of the night, he had an urgent message on his phone, he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper and informed the rest of his family.
Josh Spiegel, son of Judy, who lives in Orlando, said: “We are very confident that the community here will be able to find our loved ones.
“My mom was an absolutely amazing person,” Josh Spiegel said. “She’s a fighter, she fights for each of us. We will not stop … we will fight until we find her,” he said.
“We have high hopes that Judy is still alive,” said Kevin Spiegel. “She’s a wonderful person.”
CNN’s Ana Junica, Melissa Alonso, Jameel Lynch, Abel Alvarado and Valentina Morera contributed to the report.
