‘My heart is aching.’ Horrified nation awakes to Florida condo collapse
A condo building partially collapsed in Florida early Thursday, and the news shocked people across the nation.
Celebrities and politicians were among those taking to social media to grieve the death of at least one person and hope that others who may be trapped in the rubble near Miami make it to safety.
“My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims and with the heroic emergency responders, who even now just pulled a boy from the rubble,” actor George Takei wrote on Twitter. “America is united in our grief and shock.”
“My heart is aching for all who were in the building during the collapse of the condo complex,” another person tweeted.
At about 2 a.m. Thursday, part of the 12-story Champlain Towers South Condo collapsed, leaving a pile of rubble. Crews raced to the building in Surfside — north of Miami Beach — where officials said 10 received treatment for injuries. Two people were brought to the hospital and 99 others could be missing, the Miami Herald reported.
The scene made some think about the safety of themselves and their loved ones.
“Dad called me this am after he saw a building collapsed in Miami Beach & wanted to make sure I was okay,” one Twitter user wrote. “My heart broke when he then said - it reminded him of the towers & rubble (my dad was a first responder on 9/11). praying for all.”
Florida politicians shared their horror at the collapse on Twitter.
“My heart and hopes are in Surfside as 100s of rescuers from across my community work furiously to search and save residents,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said. “We pray the casualties & loss of life are limited and rescuers remain safe as they aid and reunite families impacted by this horrible tragedy.”
“Horrible images emerging the partial collapse of a condo building in #Surfside #Florida last night,” Sen. Marco Rubio said. “@MiamiDadeFire has one of the best urban search and rescue teams in the world & they have been on the scene for hours searching for victims & survivors.”
Here’s how other social media users reacted.
This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 8:59 AM with the headline "‘My heart is aching.’ Horrified nation awakes to Florida condo collapse."
