Miami building collapse - updates: Death toll reaches 12 as extra rescue team requested amid tropical forecast

Rescue workers continue to search the rubble of Champlain Towers South (AP)
Rescue workers continue to search the rubble of Champlain Towers South (AP)

The death toll from the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, continues to rise, with 12 confirmed fatalities, and a further 149 missing.

Search and rescue efforts are continuing, and huge pieces of rubble from the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building were removed to assist with that search.

Over the weekend, US media reported that a Surfside official assured residents of the now-collapsed condominium that it was “in very good shape”, a month after an engineering report found it had “major structural damage”.

A resident of a sister building told reporters he had “concerns” about a crack that appeared n his block, Champlain Towers East, after Thursday’s tragedy. Residents in the block have been offered to evacuate, although there is no imminent threat.

It comes amid reports that the building’s developers broke rules by adding an additional floor to the 12-storey building, and afterwards ignored warnings of structural damage.

Those with family members who may have been in the building at the time of its collapse are asked to call 305-614-1819. More information here.