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Horrifying video showing moment Surfside condo building collapses goes viral

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Ray Jadallah said that two people have so far been pulled out of the rubble and 35 others evacuated

Social media platforms were inundated with photos and videos early Thursday, June 24, after part of a 12-story residential building collapsed in the South Florida community of Surfside, killing at least one person and sparking a major search and rescue operation. The condo complex is reportedly one block from Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's Miami home.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Ray Jadallah said that two people have so far been pulled out of the rubble and 35 others evacuated from standing portions of the building since it collapsed at around 1.30 am. According to CNN, a staggering 55 of the building's 136 units collapsed at one go, leaving huge piles of rubble and an unknown number of victims.

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Surfside Mayor Charles W Burkett told reporters hours before Jadallah spoke that one person had died in the calamity. Meanwhile, Jadallah did not comment on the conditions of two people who were rescued from the scene.

A witness told CNN how rescuers helped a boy from the debris, and footage from the scene showed first responders helping others get away from the standing portions of the building. "This is a horrific catastrophe. In the United States, buildings just don't fall down," Burkett said.

As rescue teams scrambled to 8777 Collins Avenue, located a few miles north of Miami Beach, one nearby resident told CNN she was awakened by alarms going off and pounding on her door. "I woke everyone up in the room because when I looked out the window, I saw everyone outside," she said. "I told everyone to hurry up and leave the building." Morales did not hear the collapse and was shocked when she realized a significant portion of the building was missing. 

Jadallah said that aside from two people being rushed to hospitals, ten were examined and treated at the scene. Meanwhile, the mayor revealed that the building was undergoing roof work. However, it is still unclear whether that was a factor in the collapse. Shocking photos and videos started coming in.

One witness told CNN he saw a boy's wriggling fingers sticking out of the debris and immediately notified the rescue teams. Local resident Nicholas Balboa was walking his dog around 1.30 or 1.40 am when he reportedly felt the ground shake and saw plumes of dust and debris. He recounted the outlet how he and another man went to the back of the building to see if there were any survivors. Just when he thought no one could have made it out alive, he reportedly heard someone screaming.

"Finally, I got close enough to hear him, and (the trapped boy) said, 'Can you see my hand?'" Balboa told CNN. "He was sticking his hand up... through the debris. And I could see his hand and his fingers wiggling."

Balboa and the other man, who wasn't identified, got a police officer to come over, with other rescuers following shortly after. The boy was reportedly under a mattress and bed frame when he was found.