One person is dead and nearly 100 people missing after a building collapsed in Florida.

A search and rescue operation is looking for survivors after the 12-storey building partially collapsed in the middle of the night.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett has warned the death toll was likely to rise, saying “the building is literally pancaked”.

“More than 200 people were listed as being residents or being in the building last night and now 102 of them have been accounted for,” Nine News US correspondent

“The death toll confirmed at the moment sits at one but sadly as we watch this search and rescue mission unfold all morning, we’re not seeing anybody … being taken out of the rubble.

“The sad reality is that the expectation is that death toll … is going to grow as they continue to search.”

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