As first responders searched for survivors following a deadly building collapse in southern Florida’s Miami-Dade County early Thursday morning, firefighters managed to rescue a young boy, with video capturing the moment they pulled him out from the rubble.
In the video, several firefighters can be seen lifting the boy from the rubble before one first responder lifts the child over his shoulder and begins to carry him away.
At least one person has reportedly died after 12-story residential building, Champlain Towers, partially collapsed in the early hours of the morning, according to The Washington Post.
It is still unclear what caused the collapse in Surfside, a beachside town just 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Miami.
At a press conference on Thursday morning, Mayor Charles Burkett said the building had “literally pancaked”, according to ABC 7 News.
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The mayor said at least 10 people, including the person who died, were treated for injuries at the scene.
One person is in critical condition at the hospital, Mr Burkett said.
Describing the situation as “heartbreaking”, the mayor suggested that he expected the death toll to rise, asserting: “It’s heartbreaking because it doesn’t seem to me...that we will find people alive”.
It is still unclear how many people would have been inside the building when it collapsed.
A major search and rescue operation has been underway since the incident unfolded, with footage also showing first responders rescuing some residents from their balconies.
