Albert Aguero describes how his family narrowly survived the Surfside condo collapse.
A family who survived the Surfside condominium collapse said they were mere feet from losing their lives.
Albert Aguero, his wife and two children, who are from New Jersey and on vacation in South Florida, were in unit 1106 of the 12-story Champlain Towers South Condo, right by the wing that suddenly collapsed early Thursday.
Aguero said he woke up around 1:15 a.m. and felt the building shaking and the walls moving, and noticed the chandeliers were swaying as the power went out.
"I look out onto the balcony and the entire building is covered by a grey cloud," Aguero said.
While he initially thought the building had been struck by lightning, Aguero said when he saw fire trucks arrive and went outside and was told by firefighters to evacuate, he knew it was serious.
Aguero said he grabbed a few items and he and his family began to make their way out of the building, and were stunned by the destruction they saw.
Drone video shows devastation and destruction in Surfside after a 12-story condo building suddenly collapsed, killing at least four residents. A massive search-and-rescue effort is underway.
"I looked to my left and half of the apartment is gone, look forward and the elevator shaft is there and there's no elevator, it's just two holes," Aguero said. "Panic starts to set in, like we need to really run, because I don't know if the rest of it is coming down. We got to the stairwell and when we opened the door, that's when everything really hit, because half the wall to the stairwell was missing, it was kind of open air stairs, so now we're just racing down as fast as possible."
Aguero said his family got down to the third floor and found a young woman clinging to an elderly woman, and helped them get to the ground floor.
"The first floor had probably collapsed like three feet, so now we had to crawl up rubble with this elderly lady and get her up over that," he said. "We hopped over, walked outside to the pool area and now there's a huge gap about three-foot, where that was really kind of a challenge."
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A “Surfside Strong” sign hangs on a balcony as search and rescue operations continue at the site of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. Over one hundred people are being reported as missing as search-and-rescue effort continues with rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
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Fayzah Bushnaq draws out a prayer in the sand near where search and rescue operations continue at the site of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Florida.
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A man prays near where search and rescue operations continue at the site of the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. The man, overcome with emotion, said he had lost a relative in the collapse.
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Maria Fernanda Martinez, Fayzah Bushnaq, and Mariana Cordeiro console each other near the site of a search and rescue operation at the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. The 99 people are being reported as missing as search-and-rescue effort continues with rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Workers use a lift to investigate balconies in the still-standing portion of the building adjacent to where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, late on Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami.
Gerald Herbert/AP
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue team sprays water onto the rubble as rescue efforts continue where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, late on Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami.
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In this aerial view, search and rescue personnel work after the partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida.
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Search and rescue personnel work in the rubble of the 12-story condo tower that crumbled to the ground during a partially collapse of the building on June 24, 2021 in Miami. It is unknown at this time how many people were injured as search-and-rescue effort continues with rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Search and rescue personnel work in the rubble of the 12-story condo tower that crumbled to the ground during a partially collapse of the building on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. It is unknown at this time how many people were injured as search-and-rescue effort continues with rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Luz Marina holds a picture of her aunt, Marina Azen, who she said is missing after the partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo tower that she was in on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. It is unknown at this time how many people were injured as search-and-rescue effort continues with rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
People console each other near the site of a partially collapsed building, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Florida. A wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed with a roar in a town outside Miami early Thursday, trapping residents in rubble and twisted metal.
Marta Lavandier/AP
Rescue workers walk among the rubble where part of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Florida.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Rescue worker walk among the rubble where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami.
A photo shows flooding on the ground floor of the Champlain Towers after a portion of the 12-story condominium collapsed overnight, June 24, 2021, in Miami, Fla.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Jennifer Carr, right, sits with her daughter as they wait for news at a family reunification center, after a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Carr and her family were evacuated from a nearby building.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
People lie on cots as they wait for news at a family reunification center, after a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
Household items and debris dangle from a partially collapsed multistory beachfront condo, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Florida.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
A man waits for information after a partial building collapse, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
An approximation of the Champlain Towers condominium before its collapse superimposed over an aerial photo of the site of collapse, June 24, 2021, in Miami. It is still unknown how many people are missing as rescue workers continue to dig through rubble well into the morning.
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A young boy is pulled out from the rubble, alive, after a condominium partially collapsed early Thursday morning in Miami, Florida, June 24, 2021.
A photo shows the Champlain Towers after a portion of the 12-story condominium collapsed overnight, June 24, 2021, in Miami, Fla.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
Firefighters search a partially collapsed building early Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami, Florida.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
A partially collapsed building is seen early Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami, Florida.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
Bystanders look at a partially collapsed building early Thursday, morning June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami, Florida. A partial building collapse in Miami caused a massive response early Thursday from Miami Dade Fire Rescue, according to a tweet from the department’s account.
Aguero and his family were able to get over the gap and help the elderly woman over, then they sprinted to the beach.
"My initial reaction is wow, we were so lucky. We talked about it and we say it's about 15 feet that we survived by, if we had been 15 feet to the right, it would have gone down, or half of the apartment would have gone down," Aguero said. "We were just tremendously lucky."
At least four people were killed and nearly 160 remained unaccounted for Friday, as rescue workers continued to search through the rubble for possible survivors.
Aguero said they left behind passports, vaccination cards and even his wife's wedding rings that he'd like to retrieve, but he understands how dangerous the site remains.
"If I had five minutes I could get everything I need but there were folks that didn't get five minutes so I really feel for them, we're just thankful to be alive," he said.
