Search continues for survivors after deadly Miami building collapse

One person has been confirmed dead and almost 100 are missing after a residential building collapsed in Miami.

Rescue crews have been combing through the wreckage after part of the oceanside tower collapsed on Thursday.

According to Miami-Dade police 99 people remain unaccounted for, with emergency crews working around the clock to find them.

"Fire and rescue are in there with their search team, with their dogs," Miami-Dade police director Freddy Ramirez told reporters, according to Reuters. 

"It's a very dangerous site right now. Very unstable. They're in search-and-rescue mode, and they will be in that mode for a while. They are not quitting. They're going to work through the night. They are not stopping."

Ramirez added it was a "very tragic situation for those families and for the community".

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 102 people had been accounted for so far and are safe, which was "very encouraging", CNN reported.

Officials said the cause of the collapse was not yet known, but the building was going through a recertification process requiring repairs and another building was also being built next door at the time of the incident.

Photos from the scene show the extent of the damage, with rescue crews saying they have heard sounds from survivors in the wreckage. 

"The rescuers are hearing sounds from the rubble," State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis told CNN.

"It's kind of hit or miss. You get into the zone where you are so passionate and so focused and so determined to make sure you are doing everything possible to save a life in an event like this."

He said it was dangerous work looking for survivors.

"There's flooding, there's fuel, there's unstable ground, in addition, the challenge of the urgency of saving lives."