Florida building collapse: How a game of football saved a person’s life

At least four people have died and 159 are unaccounted for since a 12-storey condominium building near Miami, Florida collapsed on Thursday. And Patricia Avilez, whose brother-in-law lived there, luckily survived the tragedy, thanks to her love for football.

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In the absence of her brother-in-law, Avilez generally stops by to collect mail and to check up on the condo, the Associated Press reported. But on the night before the condo collapsed, after initially thinking about going over to spend the night, she changed her mind after she began watching a game of football.

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“Last night I was thinking, ‘Let me go over there to sleep overnight’”, Avilez told AP. “I was looking at the soccer game and I changed my mind and I stayed home”. She said that she woke up at 5:30 am on Thursday and was on her way to her brother-in-law’s apartment. As she was on her way, she heard the news on the radio about the collapse.

“And then I came here and it’s gone”, said Avilez. “Everything was a disaster”. Officials say that almost 100 people were still unaccounted for following the collapse. It killed at least one person and trapped several others in the rubble. Rescuers retrieved dozens of residents from the building on Thursday morning. The incident occurred around 1:30 am on the day, reported AP.

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Rescue operations are still underway with authorities pulling out three more bodies overnight after one was found dead initially. The cause of the collapse is not clear yet. But Avilez’s life was virtually saved because of football.