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Soccer game kept woman away from condo wing that collapsed

A section of a partially collapsed building is seen early Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami, Fla. 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. Miami Dade Fire Rescue is conducting search and rescue. Authorities had no word yet on casualties, or details of how many people lived in the building. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (Wilfredo Lee, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

SURFSIDE, Fla. – A soccer game may have saved Patricia Avilez's life.

Avilez's brother-in-law lives in a condo located in the wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building that collapsed in a town outside Miami early Thursday, killing at least one person.

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When the brother-in-law isn't there, Avilez routinely stops by to pick up the mail and make sure everything in the condo is in order.

“Last night I was thinking, “Let me go over there to sleep over night,” she said. “I was looking at the soccer game and I changed my mind and I stayed home.”

She said she woke up at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and headed over to the apartment. On the way, she heard on the radio about the collapse.

“And then I came here and it’s gone,” she said. “Everything is disaster.”


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