By Bond Robertson 
A man and a woman hold each other while waiting for news about their loved ones. Photo: Marta Lavandier/AP
Almost a day later, 99 are still missing after the fatal block collapse. Pablo Rodriguez’s mother is one of them. The day before, his mother must have woken up to loud creaking sounds in her house, he says.
Family and friends have lived in uncertainty since the block collapse. They posted on social media pictures of their loved ones who have not yet been identified.
The number of missing people has now reached 99.
Hundreds of relatives came to a reunion center set up near the crash site, it was reported Miami Herald. Pictures from the place show people crying and hugging each other.
Rust: Large parts of the Miami apartment complex collapsed in the middle of the night. The number of people who were inside the building when this happened is still unclear. Photo: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue/X80001
“There is no hope”
– I came to the center, but I have no hope, says Pablo Rodriguez (40 years old) as he weeps, and USA Today.
Rodriguez’s mother and grandmother were in the building when it collapsed.
to me CNN His mother must have heard loud creaking sounds the day before the block collapsed.
– She told me she woke up at three or four in the morning and heard creaking noises.
– He added that they were long enough to wake her up.
Nicholas Fernandez also remains in the center – he is waiting for news about his close friends.
– Since this happened, I’ve tried to contact them several times, to help aid workers locate them, he says.
Aunt is missing
Luz Marina Peña has been waiting for the center for several hours in the hope of getting the message that all relatives have now been waiting for – that all is well with their loved ones. For Luz, that means her 77-year-old aunt has been found alive.
She is one of them 99 people are reported missing After parts of the building collapsed while people were sleeping inside.
– You cannot imagine the terrible feeling, of not knowing – whether she is under the rubble, whether she is alive or not, she says. Miami Herald.
– We called the police department, we called the hospitals, we reported it to the police. She says, we did everything we could humanly.
Three people were confirmed dead News letters. But police say they fear the death toll will rise dramatically.
Among the missing is the family of Paraguay’s first lady, Silvana Lopez Moreira. This was stated in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
Sister Sophia Lopez Moreira and her husband Luis Bittengel. Their three children and the maid, Mrs. Luna Villalba, are missing.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister, Euclid Acevedo, said in a Interview Thursday that authorities are “frantically” trying to contact the missing and “investigate all hospitals in Miami,” reports say. NBC News.
President Mario Abdo Benitez has canceled the planned events due to the accident, he said News letters.
Read also: Jorge lives near the building that collapsed.
It is still unclear how many people were in the building when it collapsed. 35 people have been rescued and rescue crews are now working hard to clear the area.
“They are doing everything they can to save lives,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said. Milder The New York Times.
Missing Sister: Paraguay’s First Lady Silvana López Moreira (right) and her husband, President Mario Abdo Benítez (second from right) stand here with the Vice President and his wife. Photo: Jorge Saenz/TT NEWS AGENCY
According to DeSantis, the rescue crew is “in contact” with people and is still hoping to find survivors among the ruins of the building.
But they are “preparing for bad news,” warns the governor, who visited the family reunion center Thursday night in Norwegian time, he reported. Miami Herald.
Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett announced Thursday that the death toll is likely to rise.
“It is heartbreaking because it seems to me that it means that we will not be as successful as we thought in finding people alive,” he says.
The cause of the collapse is unknown. NBC wrote that documents show the building dates back to 1981 and has more than 130 residential units.