Buildings through an underwater camera in the ocean as reports indicate that Miami-Dade County in the future could be one of the most susceptible places when it comes to rising water levels due to global warming on March 14, 2012 in Surfside, Florida. AFP FILE PHOTO
MIAMI 鈥� A multi-story apartment block in Florida partially collapsed during Thursday鈥檚 early hours, sparking a major emergency response.
Online videos showed a large portion of the 12-story building in the town of Surfside 鈥� just north of Miami Beach 鈥斅爎educed to rubble, with the apartments鈥� interiors exposed.
It was unclear how many people lived in the building or who had been inside at the time, but local news station NBC 6 South Florida reported that firefighters pulled one boy from the rubble alive.
Emergency services sent dozens of response units to the scene, near to the local beach.
Miami Beach Police Department said its officers were 鈥渁ssisting the Town of Surfside at a partial building collapse.鈥�
鈥淢ultiple police and fire agencies from across Miami-Dade are assisting,鈥� the force added.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said: 鈥淥ver 80 MDFR units鈥� are on scene with assistance from municipal fire departments.鈥�
Local media said records showed the building was built in 1981 and had more than 130 units inside.