Grieving firefighter recovers 7-year-old daughter's body from the rubble at Surfside condo building collapse​​



A Miami firefighter reportedly recovered his young daughter's body Thursday night while searching through the rubble at the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida.

The grieving father draped his jacket over the 7-year-old girl's body and placed a small American flag on the gurney after a team of first responders made the discovery, WPLG-TV reported.

Then the father, along with his brother and fellow firefighters, escorted the girl from the scene as a line of police officers and firefighters looked on. The firefighter and his family have asked not to be identified.

"Our hearts and prayers are with the families affected by this horrific tragedy," said Miami Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Zahralban, according to the local news outlet. "We can confirm that a member of our City of Miami Fire Department family has lost his 7-year-old daughter in the collapse. She was recovered last night by members of our Urban Search and Rescue Team, Florida Task Force 2."

"We ask that you respect the privacy of the immediate family as well as our Fire Department family while we grieve our loss and support our own," the fire chief went on to say.

As the massive search-and-rescue operation — which consists of more than 80 teams — stretched into its ninth day, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters the burden on first responders, as well as the families of victims, is only increasing.

For the Miami firefighter who recovered his daughter, the burden was two-fold.

"It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult for everybody, particularly the families that have been impacted," the mayor said. "But last night was truly different and more difficult for our first responders. These men and women are paying an enormous human toll each every day, and I ask that all of you please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers.

"They truly represent the very best in all of us, and we need to be there for them as they are here for us," Levine Cava added.

On Friday morning, the death toll in the collapse rose to 20, while 128 others remain unaccounted for, CNBC reported.

Distraught family says missing loved ones' landline has called at least 20 times from the rubble at Champlain Towers South



Florida family members say that they have received no fewer than 20 phone calls from their loved ones' landline since the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, nearly a week ago.

Arnie Notkin, 87, and his wife, Myriam, 81, lived on the doomed building's third floor, and their loved ones say that they began receiving the calls roughly 18 hours after the building partially collapsed.

Eleven people have died as a result of the disaster, and approximately 150 people remain missing at the time of this reporting as search and rescue enters its seventh day.

What are the details?

Dianne Ohayon told the New York Post that calls from her parents have yet to subside.

"They're coming in every day," she told the outlet. "The last one I have knowledge about was Monday morning, a call came in at about 5:30 a.m. It was static. It's the same thing every time. ... There's nobody on the line and it's just static. And we wait and we just hang up because nothing changes."

The landline, according to Ohayon, was next to her parents' bed.

Her nephew, Jake Samuelson — the Notkins' grandson — reached out to an area detective to determine why the calls keep coming in.

Samuelson told the station that when the first call came in, the family sat in stunned silence.

"We were all sitting there in the living room ... and we were just shocked and we kind of thought nothing of it because we answered, and it was static," he said. The day after the deadly collapse, he said the family received 15 more calls.

Ohayon said that her nephew and the rest of the family are hoping to find answers.

"My nephew went on camera to try and find answers, raise awareness and maybe find out if other family members in the building were also receiving calls," she said. "We were just not understanding what these phone calls were meaning. Maybe they were calling for help. We don't know what they mean."

The investigation into the eerie calls continues, and Ohayon said that the family is just waiting for more information on the source of the disturbing phone calls.

A Saturday report from WPLG-TV noted that calls to the Notkins' number that day were met with a busy signal.

"The days are long, but we're still hopeful and we're just waiting," Ohayon added. "Every day is the same process."

Video captures wildly awkward moment VP Kamala Harris has to remind President Joe Biden about deadly Fla. building collapse as officials fear 159 could be dead



Video captured the uncomfortable moment Vice President Kamala Harris was forced to remind President Joe Biden of the disaster that struck in Surfside, Florida, on Thursday.

A multistory building in the seaside town partially collapsed in the early hours of Thursday morning, killing at least four people. Officials fear the worst with regard to at least 159 people who were reportedly inside the building at the time of the collapse and who remain missing at the time of this reporting.

What are the details?

During a Thursday White House event, Biden delivered remarks on the country's infrastructure and more and attempted to wrap up the remarks when Harris approached him and appeared to whisper a reminder about the Florida disaster.

"Florida, yeah," Harris is heard saying in the video, according to a Friday report from the New York Post.

Biden responded, "Oh, yes. I apologize. Yes, thank you, Madam Vice President."

He then segued into a brief discussion of the disaster, promising the state any federal funds should Florida request it and added that he was awaiting such a request from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

"We are on top of it," the president insisted. "We are ready to move, from the federal resources, immediately — immediately, if, in fact, we're asked for it."

He continued, "FEMA is down there taking a look at what's needed, including from, everything from — if the rest of those buildings have to be evacuated as well, finding housing for those people, making sure they have the capacity to both have a place to — to shelter, and food to eat, et cetera."

"I made it clear that I say to the people of Florida, whatever help you want that the federal government can provide, we're waiting," he promised. "Just ask us; we'll be there. We'll be there."

Later Thursday afternoon, the Miami Herald reported that DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Miami-Dade County, which enabled federal rescue, housing, and financial assistance.

Read more here:

President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Dealwww.youtube.com

What else?

In video obtained by local Florida media outlets, the building can be seen appearing to collapse from the top down, beginning near the center of the building and working outward to the right.

The cause of the collapse remains unknown at the time of this reporting. According to previous reporting, at least 55 units in the northwest corner of the building were impacted by the collapse.

JUST IN: Video I’ve obtained of the building collapse in Surfside, Florida. https://t.co/BGbRC7iSI9

— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) 1624540712.0

Time on Friday reported that Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said that 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," he added.

Time's report added, "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."

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, the state's fire marshal, added that he was heartbroken after seeing a photo of a bunk bed teetering on the very edge of the destruction.

"Somebody was probably sleeping in it," he said. "There's all those what-ifs."

Multistory condo building partially collapses; hundreds of first responders flock to the scene to rescue the trapped



A multistory condominium building has partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing at least one person and possibly trapping others in the rubble.

More than 80 rescue teams reportedly responded to the scene.

Authorities in South Florida were responding early Thursday to a "partial building collapse," the Miami-Dade Fire R… https://t.co/PS41CDCSpM

— CNN (@CNN) 1624532820.0

What are the details?

The collapse took place around 2 a.m. local time early Thursday morning.

According to CNN, one person died and at least 10 others were treated at the scene.

Of the disaster, Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett said, "This is a horrific catastrophe. In the United States, buildings just don't fall down."

BREAKING: Multi-level building collapse reported in Surfside, Florida. Multiple emergency agency's responding.… https://t.co/6j8CD9ijBj

— Izzy (@YWNReporter) 1624517112.0

Kimberly Morales, a woman who lives across the street from the building, said that she was awakened by the sound of alarms going off.

"I woke everyone up in the room because when I looked out the window, I saw everyone outside," she told the outlet. "I told everyone to hurry up and leave the building."

Witness Shmuel Balnaky said that he was walking with his brothers and dog when they heard a "really big rumble."

"And we think that it was a motorcycle — like, classic, early in the morning — and we turn around and we just see a cloud of dust coming our way," he recalled. "And we're just, like, what is going on? So we, like, we start rushing towards there. We pull our shirts over our face so we don't get any, like, dust in our eyes and everything."

Shmuel added, "We have friends who have family that live in the building. We don't even know if they're OK. Some of them are OK. We don't know if the rest are OK."

His brother, Mich, added, "What we saw from the beginning was a huge cloud of smoke and a lot of noise. ... We saw this happen. It was by far the most horrific thing that I've seen. I was alive for 9/11. I didn't see that happen in real life. I saw something like this happen, and it's the closest thing that I can relate to 9/11. This is something that is absolutely insane."

David Shaw, who was inside a neighboring building, said that he felt the whole building shake.

"You couldn't see," he said of the view from his window. "I thought it was, like, a storm or something coming in. When the dust cleared, the back ... two-thirds of the building was gone, it was down to the ground."

What else?

The Jerusalem Post reported that the building — which it identified as Champlain Towers – sits in one of the most Jewish neighborhoods in the Miami area.

According to the outlet, the mayor has expressed concerns that the building might entirely collapse, and authorities believe there may be multiple fatalities.

"The mayor said 15 family units walked out of the building," the outlet reported. "10 people were treated on-site and two were taken to the hospital, however CBS is reporting that there have been nine hospitalizations so far. One of the hospitalizations was the single confirmed fatality, according to the mayor. He added that there are likely several apartments still unaccounted for."

The Miami Herald reported that first responders brought dogs to sniff out any possible survivors in the rubble.

"They aren't turning up much," Surfside Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer said. "No one is celebrating anyone being pulled out."

On Thursday morning, WPLG-TV reported that "numerous others" are trapped in the rubble

"The power has been cut off to the building and it appeared that part of at least four levels were totally destroyed in the collapse," the station reported.

The cause of the collapse remains unknown at the time of this reporting.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has set up a family reunification center, the Herald reported, and encouraged anyone seeking loved ones to call (305) 614-1819.