SURFSIDE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2021) Rainer Sandoval, a Venezuelan national, told Sputnik he has now witnessed two major tragedies that struck the United States, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the building collapse in Surfside, Florida on June 24, 2021.
Sandoval told Sputnik he lived in New York City for many years before moving to with his partner to Surfside, settling in a house within minutes of the now-collapsed building. "I open my house door and I can see the building," he noted.
"I was sleeping. Everything was silent, and then I heard something... The sound was, oh my gosh, it was incredible. I can't describe it," Sandoval said of the night of the tragedy. "I was living in New York when 9/11 happened, so it reminded me of 9/11 because it was horrible for me to live through. That experience was really, really bad because I saw the second plane crash into the second tower, and I saw the tower collapse. So, it was horrible, horrible, horrible. And when I saw this, you know, it reminded me of what i lived through in New York. It was horrible."
Sandoval noted that when he exited his hallway, he saw plenty of smoke and immediately rushed towards the building.
He noted that he first saw the left part of the building collapse, and several seconds later, the second part collapsed
"A lot of people were crying walking around the scene. You could also hear people screaming from the building," he said. "I heard a lot of people screaming, crying."
"I saw all that and I couldn't breathe because I also have sinus," he noted.
He went on to describe the panic that swept through the residents of the neighboring parts of the condo, fearing the rest of the structure could also come down.
"People were praying on the balconies because they saw everything. They thought they were going to die because they say that the building collapsed, and the other collapsed, and thought maybe this building is going to collapse too. So, a lot people were crying," Sandoval said.
He noted that firefighters came right away and put the ladders to get people down. "Many people were rescued, even old ones," he said.
Sandoval went on to say that the atmosphere became hysterical as many people were trying to help but couldn't.
"A lot of people who were walking around tried to help people, but how? They didn't have anything. Everybody was crying, Everybody was hysterical because it was impossible to help them," he said.
Sandoval went on to lament the flight of residents from the neighboring buildings but was understanding of the concerns of the residents.
"Nobody wants to be in such a situation. I prefer to have my relatives safe. It is so sad," he said. "They think that something may happen and want to move out."
According to the latest figures, updated daily by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, the bodies of 20 people have so far been retrieved from under the rubble, with 128 people unaccounted for and 188 accounted for.�
