One side of a 12 story waterfront apartment building outside Miami, Florida, collapsed early Thursday, killing at least one person and trapping residents in rubble and twisted metal, Los Angeles Online reported.

According to the associated press, Charles Burkett, mayor of Surfside, said at a news conference that the building management told him that the building was full of people and the death toll might rise. About half of the 130 units in the building were affected, Burke said. As of noon, nearly 100 people were still missing, raising concerns that the death toll could rise sharply. But the authorities do not know how many people were in the building when it collapsed. The Argentine consulate in Miami said the nine people missing in the collapse came from Argentina. "The building was almost razed to the ground," Burke said. It's heartbreaking because for me, it doesn't mean that we will succeed in finding survivors as we hope. " Miami Dade fire rescue is carrying out search and rescue operations and said on a twitter that more than 80 units "arrived at the scene with the assistance of the municipal fire department". Police blocked nearby roads, and dozens of fire engines, rescue vehicles, ambulances and police vehicles poured into the area. Firefighters walked through the ruins and carried the survivors out of the ruins. Assistant fire chief Raide jadallah said at a news conference that rescue workers rescued at least 35 people from the ruins and brought heavy equipment to help stabilize the building. Earlier, Burkett said two people were taken to hospital and one of them died. He added that 15 families had walked out of the building themselves. At the time of the incident, the roof of the building was under repair. But Burkett said he didn't think it might be the cause of the collapse. The authorities did not explain the possible reasons. After the collapse, some houses in the still standing part of the building were exposed. TV pictures show that bunk beds, tables and chairs are still in the house. The air conditioning unit is hung outside the building, and the wires swing in the air. Barry Cohen, a 63 year old former deputy mayor of cerfside, said that when he first heard the collapse, he thought it was thunder. He and his wife were sleeping in the building. The couple went to their balcony, opened the door leading to the corridor of the building and found "a pile of rubble, dust and smoke." He and his wife finally reached the basement and found that the water was rising. They went back upstairs and shouted for help. Finally, they were rescued by firefighters. Cohen said he worried about whether nearby buildings would cause damage to the building a few years ago because he saw cracks in the paving stone on the swimming pool deck. Paraguayan president's relatives are also among the missing. Paraguayan foreign minister Euclides Acevedo said in an interview on Thursday that the family of President Benitez was also missing after the building collapsed. They are Sofia, the sister of Silvana L ó PEZ moreI, the first lady of Paraguay, Luis pettengill, her brother-in-law, and their three children. Another accompanying staff member disappeared at the same time as the family. Acevedo said that the local consul of Paraguay was "frantically" trying to get in touch with them, and officials were "searching all hospitals in Miami". It is reported that the family had just been vaccinated with the new crown vaccine the day before the collapse, which was petengir's birthday. Paraguay's Ministry of Foreign Relations said in a statement on its website that the country is paying close attention to the collapse of the building. Five members of the first lady's sister's family and accompanying staff are listed as missing persons. Benitez reportedly suspended all Thursday's agenda. The waterfront apartment development project was built in 1981 and is located in the southeast corner of the city. The apartment currently has several two bedroom apartments on the market, asking for $600000 to $700000. The area has new and old apartments, houses, apartments and hotels, restaurants and shops to serve international residents and tourists（ Original title: the flank of a high-rise apartment in Miami collapsed (at least one dead, nearly 100 missing)