The collapse of a 12 story condominium in Miami, Florida is a tragedy that is raising questions by some folks.

Although accidents like this do indeed happen, and the U.S. has experienced tragedies similar to this in the past, the Mayor of Surfside, Charles Burkett, made some eyebrow-raising comments during an interview with CBS News:

Buildings like this don’t fall down in America. This is this is not an old building. This is a new building. I know old buildings because that was my business,” he said. “This building is 1980s. So it’s like, relatively speaking, brand new. And the extent of the collapse is really mind-boggling.” – Mayor Charles Burkett

CBS News

Burkett shared how he was called at 2 a.m. and didn’t realize the magnitude of what happened at first.

“I thought a balcony had come down, to tell you the truth,” he said. “And I almost didn’t come out, but I said, ‘You know, it’s my job to come out for a balcony.’ And I came out and when I saw what I saw, it was just heartbreaking. It’s like a bomb went off. It’s like an earthquake.” – Mayor Charles Burkett

CBS News

Right now, the top priority for everyone involved is to locate the 99 missing people who are still unaccounted for.

Time is of the essence. There could be survivors in the rubble.

Once that is completed, then authorities can dive into what caused the building to collapse.

Some experts in Florida familiar with the building have said the high rise had been slowly sinking into the earth since the 1990s.

If that was the case, you would think the Mayor might be aware of the situation. But his comments sound like he was possibly not aware of any sinking occurring or any other issues of structural integrity.

Everyone here at Weird News Media is praying and thinking about all the families involved in this tragedy.

We will post any significant follow ups to this story.