Collapse: Disaster in Surfside

Behind closed doors in the “family reunification center,” an emotional scene plays out in the days following the collapse. The third episode of Collapse: Disaster in Surfside takes us inside the large room at the Grand Beach Hotel that is away from the media frenzy, but not far from where Champlain Towers South once stood. Over the next two weeks, first responders from Miami Dade Fire Rescue update the loved ones of those still missing on the state of the search. Using live-stream Instagram video and rare documentary footage, we go inside that room where emotions are raw, nerves are fractured, and hope is waning. Narrated by journalist Paul Beban.

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For many residents of Champlain Towers South, life or death hinged on where their apartments were located: a few feet down the hallway made the difference. In the second episode of Collapse: Disaster in Surfside, we remain at the scene. The reality of the tragedy is beginning to sink in as search and rescue teams, journalists and the world struggle to comprehend how and why this apartment building filled with sleeping families was reduced to rubble. There are so many questions, and no answers at this point. Fears that the remainder of the condo could fall any minute are compounded by a dramatic race to find survivors. Narrated by journalist Paul Beban.

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Buildings don’t just fall, for no reason, in the middle of the night. But, at 1:22 am on June 24, 2021, a 12-story wing of the Champlain Towers South condo partially pancaked to the ground — a catastrophe so rare, it’s difficult to find an equivalent in modern history. Collapse: Disaster in Surfside investigates whether the tower was doomed from the moment it was built, who is potentially to blame, and what’s being done to make sure this never happens again. We hear the tragedy unfold in real-time, through 911 calls, police body cam footage, fire rescue dispatch audio, interviews with survivors, eyewitnesses, and family members. The developing story is tracked by the Miami Herald reporters covering this unthinkable event in their own backyard. Narrated by journalist Paul Beban.

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In the middle of the night on June 24, 2021, a 12-story section of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex roared to the ground, killing 98 people in Surfside, Florida. 

Collapse: Disaster in Surfside is a 12-part investigative and narrative reporting project; a co-production of the Miami Herald and Treefort Media. 

We’re talking with survivors, witnesses, experts, first responders, and journalists, to get the whole story of Surfside. How the building went up, and why it went down. We’re piecing together 911 calls, police body camera recordings, surveillance footage, and forensic engineers digging deep into the evidence to find the truth. 

What went wrong? Who’s going to be held accountable? Could something like Surfside happen again? We’re looking for answers.

And we’re meeting the people who called it home. We’re getting the stories of the lives lived and lost there.

All this and more through the reporting of the Miami Herald, its partners, and host Paul Beban. 

New episodes release every Wednesday.

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