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911 calls released from Surfside condo collapse: 'You've got to get us out of here'

Miami Building Collapse
Posted at 11:14 AM, Jul 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-15 15:07:15-04

WARNING: Some may find the audio from the 911 calls in this story difficult to listen to.

SURFSIDE, Fla. -- Authorities have released some of the 911 calls from last month’s deadly condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.

In the audio recordings, you hear callers asking for help in the aftermath of the collapse, confused about what had happened.

The calls give more insight into what was going on inside and around the Champlain Towers on June 24 after the building fell to the ground, killing dozens of people.

“Yes, I’m in Champlain Towers. Something's going on here. You've got to get us out of here,” said one caller who said she couldn’t escape through a staircase because it was blocked.

In one recording, a caller repeatedly said, “Oh my God,” struggling to put what she was what happening around her into words.

Another caller said that all he could see was smoke around him.

One of the callers said it seemed like “something underground” exploded.

One woman who was able to escape the collapse told dispatchers that she was alone in the parking lot of the condo and was afraid the rest of the building was going to fall down on her.

“I was able to escape, but I'm outside in the parking lot. If the building comes down, it will come down on my head, but I know the police, if somebody can come rescue me on the side next to the walkway,” she said.

In an update sent out on Wednesday, the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office said 97 victims have been recovered from the collapse, 90 of whom have been identified and 88 next-of-kin have been notified.

The office said 240 people are accounted for and eight people remain potentially unaccounted for. All eight of those people have open missing person reports with the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Officials say crews are still making progress in their search of the collapse site, with more than 22 million pounds of debris and concrete having now been removed.