SURFSIDE, Fla. — The first lady of Paraguay's family is among those unaccounted for in the aftermath of the collapse of a high-rise in the Miami area Thursday morning, according to several media reports.
CNN reports President Mario Abdo Benítez's ministry of external relations confirmed they consider first lady Silvana López Moreira's sister and family missing after not being able to locate them following the collapse.
The national outlet adds that the first lady's sister lived with her husband and their three children on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South.
NBC News adds Euclides Acevedo, the foreign minister of Paraguay, also confirmed the news in interviews Thursday morning.
A posting to Paraguay's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website confirms it is monitoring the building's collapse through the Consulate General in Miami.
"So far, 6 disappeared Paraguayans have been registered, which would be: Luis Pettengill, Sophia López Moreira, Lady Luna Villalba, and three minors," the website states.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said his office is working at the family reunification center in the Surfside area to help those overseas trying to locate loved ones.
"A substantial number of those living at the Surfside building which collapsed are originally from overseas," he tweeted.
Rubio adds that assistance is being given to those who need to obtain humanitarian visas to travel to the U.S.
Miami-Dade police report 53 residents of Champlain Towers South have been accounted for but that 99 people, assumed to living in the collapsed building, are still missing.
“The numbers are fluid and can fluctuate at any time," the police department told 10 Tampa Bay.
The tower of the oceanfront condominium that's given occupants beachfront views of the Atlantic Ocean came crashing down Thursday morning when 55 units of Champlain Towers South collapsed.
Many people inside were tucked into their beds when the building partially collapsed around 1:30 a.m. First responders have been on scene for hours to help rescue those in the building and among the rubble.
Anyone unable to contact their loved ones is asked to call 305-614-1819.
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