New Jersey’s Task Force 1 search and rescue team will deploy to Florida to help in condo collapse rescue efforts happening in Surfside.
Authorities say that six more bodies were recovered on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 18. There are still 147 people unaccounted for, including a couple from Lakewood.
As the rescue efforts continue, officials say that some scammers are already setting up fake online fundraisers to take advantage of those wishing to help. One of those scams is linked to New Jersey.
"We've already had some scammer who’s developed some type of a non-for-profit out of New Jersey who has tried to create this opportunity to steal people's information identity,” says Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. “If you give money to a GoFundMe account, you might as well be throwing it out your window, your car. I just want to just incredibly discourage it. You can't do enough due diligence to ensure your GoFundMe donation is going to a noble cause."
Anyone who would like to donate to the rescue effort should go to the
Miami-Dade website. There is a list of legitimate groups that are directly helping those impacted by the collapse.