Families searching for answers at Surfside Community Center after condo collapse

About a half-mile north of the collapsed condo tower in Surfside, family members missing loved ones clutched smartphones and moved frantically under the wide awning of the Surfside Community Center.

Victims advocates working for Miami-Dade County sat at plastic fold-out tables at the center to take their names and phone numbers but could not offer any details on who had been accounted for in the collapse ofChamplain Towers South, the oceanfront building in Surfside that partially collapsed early Thursday. The community center is located at 9301 Collins Ave., a few blocks north of the condo collapse.

Aleida Gonzalez, who lives down the street, was visibly upset as she tried to determine whether her family members were OK. She said they were a popular couple in the building: one a therapist and the other an attorney. They had lived there for more than 20 years.

“All I can say is this was a good building,” Gonzalez said. “I have never heard about any problems there.”

Gonzalez first heard of the collapse when she woke up and saw it on the news. She rushed down to the community center not knowing whether her loved ones were safe, but there was no one there who could ease her concerns.

“I’m trying to get a head count … they can’t release anything,” she said.

Wayne Conner, who is visiting Miami Beach from Virginia with 10 family members, was not missing any loved ones, but had no idea where he was going to stay that evening.

Conner said he was sleeping in his room at the Bluegreen Vacations Solara Surfside resort, 8801 Collins Ave., when he awoke to what sounded like a loud crash of thunder. The resort is next to the Champlain Towers South.

“I thought a storm had come through. All of a sudden the fire alarm went off,” Conner said.

The rubble of the building made it apparent that the condo tower had collapsed straight down on top of itself, he added.

“It reminded me of the World Trade Center and 9/11,” Conner said.

Hotline established

Families who have relatives who live or work at the building and are unaccounted for or know that they are safe should call 305-614-1819 to notify officials, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the agency taking the lead in the search-and-rescue mission.

This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Families searching for answers at Surfside Community Center after condo collapse."