NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Residents have been evacuated after a portion of a Northwest Miami-Dade apartment building’s roof collapsed.
7SkyForce HD flew over Lakeview Gardens Condominiums, in the area of Northwest 175th Street and 68th Avenue, at around 4:15 p.m., Thursday.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel arrived to the scene to assess the damage. No injuries were reported.
“All I heard was a loud bang,” resident Leila Perez said. “I went to go look for my dad, and I saw what happened. I was like ‘Wow.'”
Perez said she was taking a nap when she heard the partial collapse, and when she walked outside, she could not believe what happened.
Crews have evacuated the building to ensure the residents’ safety. A group of firefighters could be seen on the roof of the building pulling up some material as they investigated the partial collapse.
“We went into immediate search and rescue mode,” Maimi-Dade Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Eng said. “It’s a significant part of the mansard that fell. At this moment, it appears the building itself is structurally sound.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava visited the site. She said the building is 47 years old and had passed its 40-year inspection.
The mayor said the county is working with the building’s management to make sure all buildings are safe moving forward, as they continue their investigation.
“There’s some indication that some of the residents had communicated concerns about these things, and that maybe there was some attempt to go ahead and do some repairs, so we’ll have to get more information about that,” Levine Cava said.
Atias Sanchez lives nearby, and she expressed concern over the building’s roof collapsing.
“I was extremely surprised,” she said. “I’ve been living here all my life practically, and for something like this to happen so near my house — we live in the same complex — for something like that to happen near my house, it’s just very shocking.”
Officials so far have determined the damage to the building was limited to the exterior, and there does not appear to be damage to the inside of the building.
A total of 36 units have been evacuated.
The American Red Cross has responded to the site to help families displaced by the partial collapse.
The official cause remains unknown, and it remains unknown when residents can move back into their homes.
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