Death toll from Florida collapse rises to 4 – more than 150 still missing
Search for survivors continues outside Miami - NBC's Sam Brock reports
SURFSIDE, Fla. (NBC News) - "Rescuers in South Florida are working around the clock, hoping to find survivors in the rubble of a residential building.
The structure crumbled to the ground early Thursday morning. At least four people did not survive the collapse, 159 remain missing.
The updates are coming in from Surfside, Florida, and they are not what many people want to hear. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava letting us know that the number was 159 unaccounted for in this tragedy right now.
But 120 are accounted for. That number's up from the 100 reported Thursday. Still, the 159 figure is 50% higher than it was just 24-hours ago. It's something we are watching very carefully.
Firefighters work beneath the crumbling condominium tower
On the scene you can see an excavator literally ripping out chunks of the building, removing balconies.
It's unclear how that will help with the search for survivors. We do know these are very dangerous conditions under which these first responders are operating right now.
They are some of the most experienced in the world at getting into rubble and trying to find people who could be trapped, but there is debris falling. And there is rain that has been pouring down all day, on and off, creating very dangerous conditions. But they move on.
130 firefighters and first responders from across the state of Florida are now on the scene. FEMA is also on the ground. On a state, local, and federal level efforts continue to find anybody who might still be alive in the rubble."
