On June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:22 a.m. EDT, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapsed, causing the deaths of 98 people. Four people were rescued from the rubble, but one of them died of injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. Eleven others were injured. Approximately 35 were rescued the same day from the intact portion of the building, which was demolished ten days later.
A contributing factor under investigation was long-term degradation of reinforced concrete structural support in the basement-level parking garage under the pool deck, due to water penetration and corrosion of the reinforcing steel. The problems had been reported in 2018 and noted as "much worse" in April 2021. A $15 million program of remedial works had been approved before the collapse, but the main structural work had not started. Other possible factors considered included land subsidence, insufficient reinforcing steel, and corruption during construction.
In June 2026, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released their technical findings on what caused the partial collapse. The team concluded the collapse began in early June 2021, when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed. This led to the catastrophic collapse of the building on June 24, 2021, when two of the supporting columns in the middle part of the tower failed.
The Champlain Towers South collapse ties with the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse as the third-deadliest non-deliberate structural engineering failure in United States history, behind collapse of the Pemberton Mill and the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.
Background
The residential condominium building, Champlain Towers South, was located at 8777 Collins Avenue (Florida State Road A1A) in the town of Surfside, just north of Miami Beach, Florida. Champlain Towers South (completed in 1981) was part of a three-building complex along with Champlain Towers North (completed in 1982) and Champlain Towers East (built between the North and South buildings in 1994). All three were L-shaped structures with 12 stories, but as of 2021, the South building contained the most units at 136, including a rooftop penthouse. Units varied in size from 1,200 to 4,500 ft2 (110 to 420 m2) and from one to four bedrooms. The penthouse was a controversial part of Champlain Towers South's design, as an exemption was needed to exceed Surfside's height limit. The penthouses were also not part of the original building permits.
William M. Friedman & Associates Architects, Inc., was the architect for the project's 1979 contract drawings. Breiterman Jurado & Associates, consulting engineers, were responsible for engineering aspects and the 1979 contract drawings, with Breiterman and associates covering structural items and Jurado and associates covering electrical and mechanical.
The project was the first new construction in Surfside following a moratorium on new development imposed by Miami-Dade County due to water and sewer infrastructure problems in Surfside during the 1970s. In 1979, developers paid the city $200,000 (equivalent to $887,000 in 2025) to fund the replacement of the sewer system and secure approval for the construction of the condos.
Collapse
The pool deck of Champlain Towers South suddenly suffered a partial collapse at about 1:14 a.m, followed by the progressive collapse of the central section and eastern wing of the building at 1:22 a.m. EDT on June 24, 2021. The collapse of the building lasted less than 12 seconds. Surveillance video footage indicates that a large north-central section of the building collapsed first. This isolated and destabilized part of the northeast corner of the building, which collapsed approximately nine seconds later. Of the 136 units in the building, at least half were destroyed.
Casualties
The collapse killed 98 people. The sister of Silvana López Moreira, the First Lady of Paraguay, died in the collapse along with her husband, their three children and their nanny.
Rescue and relief operations
On June 24, more than 80 rescue units responded to the collapse, according to the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Surfside mayor Charles Burkett said in a news conference that ten people were treated at the scene, one person was dead, and two people were hospitalized. Both hospitalized victims – a mother and her daughter – survived with serious injuries, having fallen from the ninth floor to the fifth floor. They were pulled from the rubble by Miami Dade Fire-Rescue Aerial 19; it was originally erroneously reported by WFOR-TV (CBS 4 Miami) that the mother rescued herself. Her husband did not survive. Their family cat was later found wandering near the collapsed building. At least 35 people were rescued on June 24 and up to 159 were unaccounted for. A woman's voice, later identified as 36-year-old Theresa Velasquez, was heard until around 11:00 a.m., but rescuers were unable to reach her. Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed a state of emergency declaration at 4:33 p.m. on June 24 and called on Florida governor Ron DeSantis to do so at the state level. Governor DeSantis viewed the site on the same day, and issued a state of emergency. The White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency stated that they were in contact with local officials and providing assistance. President Joe Biden was briefed on the event, and spoke with Miami-Dade County mayor Levine Cava.
Two FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams, Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1 based in the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 2 based in the Miami Fire-Rescue Department, were activated. An additional three teams, one in Ohio and two in Virginia, were put on standby. Members of Hatzalah of South Florida, a Jewish faith-based ambulance service which was authorized to transport patients as part of a law signed the previous week in Surfside, were among the first to respond, setting up an onsite triage station.
Israel offered clothes, medication, food, water, and other aid to the victims of the collapse, according to Israeli consul general Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, who came to the scene and conveyed an official offer from the Israeli government to send the Israel Defense Forces' Home Front Command search and rescue team to assist in the rescue efforts. The Command has assisted in many other disasters, such as the 2017 Puebla earthquake, 2010 Haitian earthquake, and Typhoon Haiyan. Israel's President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid offered condolences and support. A unit specializing in providing psychological and emotional stabilization following traumatic incidents was dispatched from United Hatzalah. At least 35 of those missing were Jewish.
The National Basketball Association's Miami Heat staff handed out water and snacks to state emergency workers. World Central Kitchen and Direct Relief, both of which are beneficiaries of the Heat's charitable arm, were also helping. American Red Cross volunteers assisted people displaced by the collapse.
On June 25, Mayor Levine Cava announced that rescue teams from Israel and Mexico had joined the search and rescue effort, rotating in two daily 12-hour shifts of sifting through the rubble.
In a news conference on June 26, mayor Levine Cava explained that a fire deep within the rubble and subsequent smoke were impeding the ability of fire and rescue personnel to search for survivors. She indicated that the fire "spread laterally throughout the pile", making it difficult to isolate the source. Officials said rescuers were in the tower's heavily damaged underground parking garage, under constantly changing conditions. Levine Cava advised that "No further victims have been found, as you've heard. The numbers are the same as they were yesterday; 127 have been accounted for... One hundred and 59 unaccounted for. Four confirmed dead." Later that afternoon, the official toll was revised without elaboration to five dead and 156 missing.
Surfside Mayor Burkett advised residents of the Champlain Towers North building, located about 500 ft (150 m) north of the fallen structure, to evacuate with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance "pending a thorough structural investigation", noting that the North and South buildings had been constructed by the same developer at about the same time, and likely using similar plans and materials. He did not immediately order the evacuation of the building or declare it unsafe. By late afternoon, voluntary evacuations were occurring at both Champlain Tower North and Champlain Tower East.
Florida officials announced that THOR, a 1,000 sq ft (93 m2) mobile command center, was being deployed from Escambia County to help coordinate teams and operations. THOR, which includes cellular, satellite, and VOIP wireless systems and UHF and VHF radio systems, with built-in generators, was deployed for at least 10 days.
On June 27, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell announced that the US Army Corps of Engineers, which has significant experience with complex construction, demolition, stabilization, and forensic engineering projects, was providing onsite assistance. A search-and-rescue team from the Israeli Defense Forces' Home Front Command arrived in the morning, along with a six-person psycho-trauma unit from the Israel-based United Hatzalah including the K9 AACR therapy unit (with a first response therapy dog and her therapist handler), and members of ZAKA, a volunteer team that specializes in rescues and gathering body parts for Jewish burial. In the evening, Mayor Levine Cava said that nine people had been confirmed dead and 152 were missing. Four more names were released later that night, leaving only one of those confirmed dead not publicly identified. Two of the victims named were Venezuelan nationals.
On June 28, an additional fatality was confirmed, bringing the number of dead to 10, with 151 people still missing. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah stressed that, while the operation entered its fifth day, the effort was still focused on the search for and potential rescue of survivors rather than shifting to recovery. In the afternoon, Levine Cava announced that an eleventh body had been found, reducing the number of missing to 150. The names of three additional victims were released later in the evening, making all of the 11 known fatalities then publicly identified. An international nonprofit group of volunteers trained in Israel called Cadena International (cadena being a Spanish word meaning "chain") was assisting the rescue mission.
The Miami Marlins, along with the Miami Marlins Foundation, created the Marlins Surfside Relief Fund. Matching $50,000 donations were made by Marlins majority owner and chairman, along with additional monies.
On June 29, Mayor Levine Cava reported that no more survivors or victims had been found, but that 210 search and rescue workers were on site, each working 12-hour shifts. Workers were being medically evaluated regularly to ensure their fitness to work at the site. A massive fire deep in the rubble pile, which had hampered search and rescue efforts since the collapse, was finally extinguished. Small, radio-controlled robots equipped with thermal sensors and 360-degree cameras were being deployed to assist in search and recovery efforts. President Biden was expected to visit the site on July 1, having not done so earlier to avoid disrupting rescue operations.
In the evening, Levine Cava advised that 12 people had been confirmed dead and 149 were missing. Levine Cava said that authorities would audit the names of the missing to ensure none are duplicates, particularly because of provided Hebrew names. Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said 3,000,000 lb (1,400 t) of concrete had been removed from the site of the collapse. He said rescue workers would not reenter the west section of the building facing Collins Avenue, which was still standing, because it was unstable, making it too dangerous to go in. Rescuers could not enter a large area under the rubble on the eastern side of the site because of the same risk.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie and Miami-Dade Fire Chief Cominsky requested that FEMA deploy an additional Urban Search and Rescue Task Force team, anticipating that emergency response to the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season would otherwise have an adverse impact on the number of rescue and recovery personnel available for deployment at Surfside.
On June 30, an additional six bodies were found, including the wife and two children of a man whose body was found on June 26. This brought the death toll to 18 and reduced the number of missing to 145. In the afternoon, the rescuers discovered void spaces, including one described as "a big tunnel", in the rubble.