Mass Fatalities Feared In Surfside Florida Building Collapse In Heavily Orthodox Area Near Miami
Surfside Florida Building Collapse
(JTA) – Surfside Florida Building Collapse: Jewish emergency response services are participating in a search-and-rescue mission after a 12-story apartment building collapsed in Surfside, Florida, a heavily Orthodox town near Miami Beach. Nearly 100 People Are Still Unaccounted For In The Collapse Of A Florida Beachfront Condo.
A couple from Coventry Square in Lakewood are reportedly among the 51 people unaccounted for in the condo building that collapsed early this morning in Surfside, Florida. Chaim ben Sarah and Malka bas Sarah Rochel Rosenberg of Lakewood, as well as Mrs. Rosenberg’s father Yisroel Tzvi Yosef ben Toba, were reportedly in the building when the collapse occurred and have not been heard from since. Please daven for them as well as the others reportedly unaccounted for: Moshe ben Toba, Moshe ben Shoshana, Ariel Leib ben Ita, Ilan ben Kalman, Leib ben Shoshana, Ita bas Miriam, Tzvi Daniel ben Yehudis, Sara bas Ida, Nancy bas Sofia, Franky ben Nancy, Jay ben Nancy, Devorah bas Chaya, Yehuda Aryeh ben Freida, Rus bas Sarah, Nicole bas Andrea, Michoel ben Hans, Gavriela bas Sarah.
At least one person has been killed in the collapse, which took place without warning at about 2 a.m., and authorities in Surfside say they fear many more fatalities. The building, part of a complex called Champlain Towers, is home to year-round residents rather than people who move there from colder climates for the winter.
Hatzalah of South Florida, an Orthodox ambulance service, has established a command center at the collapse site, according to a tweet posted early Thursday by Chevra Hatzalah, the service covering New York City.
Nearly half of Surfside’s roughly 6,000 residents are Orthodox Jews, many associated with the Hasidic Chabad Lubavitch movement, which established a presence in the area in the 1980s. WhatsApp groups with many Orthodox Jews who have ties to the area buzzed Thursday with concerns about community members. Some listed names of people understood to be missing.
The collapsed building is on Collins Avenue, one mile south of The Shul, an Orthodox synagogue where last week Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills granting new privileges to Hatzalah of South Florida and creating a daily moment of silence in Florida schools.
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