Massive rescue effort underway after Florida condominium collapse

SURFSIDE, Fla. (NBC) – First responders and emergency crews are working desperately at the scene of a building collapse in Surfside, Florida. Residents there say the structure gave way in the middle of the night while they were sleeping. Search and rescue teams have pulled dozens from the rubble, but are looking for more survivors.

There are reports of booms and shaking that felt like a bomb and all of a sudden, a partial collapse at about 1:30 Thursday morning.

55 units were wiped out, absolutely reduced to rubble. And so the question is: how many people are they searching for? Are there higher numbers of fatalities? We know of one confirmed fatality right at this point.

10 people who are treated on scene, but that’s a figure that most certainly could be rising.

Collapse survivor Opohie Osun-Cohen said, “We did hear screams. But I couldn’t tell where they were coming from — from the rubble, the apartment, people were on their balconies waving flashlights.”

Chaplains are preparing to try to help and comfort people who are still missing their loved ones and mobile forensic lab units were just moved in.

Crime scene investigation workers are clearing out the space. We don’t necessarily know what they’re going to find.