Evacuated residents were back home Tuesday as an investigation was underway into a meth lab inside of an empty unit at a Bal Harbour high-rise condo building.
On Monday afternoon, Residents from the 14th, 15th and 16th floors of the Majestic Towers Condo on Collins Avenue and 96th Street were told to evacuate as Miami-Dade police, fire rescue, ATF agents and hazmat crews investigated what they called a "hazardous situation."
“They just called on the phone and they asked us to be evacuated. They told me they were evacuating three floors. Came out and were not exactly sure what’s going on," resident Marie Miller told NBC 6.
According to city officials, a manager went to inspect a vacant unit on the 15th floor and discovered chemicals inside.
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Police said the materials inside were “objects and stuff that is consistent with a clandestine lab,” Miami-Dade Police spokesperson Alvaro Zabaleta said. Police later confirmed the lab was used for the manufacturing of methamphetamine.
“It becomes very, very dangerous to everyone around because of the chemicals involved; this could easily be a potential explosion,” Zabaleta said.
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Evacuated residents weren't able to go back home Monday night. Law enforcement plans to execute a search warrant.
“I can’t believe it, in our sleepy 33154,” said resident Joseph Waks.
The discovery was certainly not what Bal Harbour residents expect in the small village on the Atlantic.
“It’s really shocking, especially since in Surfside, we already had the one building collapse," resident Madelynn Hughes said. "You know unfortunately a meth lab is extremely explosive."
Bal Harbour’s mayor says the village had lots of residents calling, worried about what they were seeing when fire trucks were blocking Collins Avenue just a few blocks from where the Champlain Towers South collapsed.
"People were very nervous. Yes, of course, people were having flashbacks of only a few months ago what was happening," Mayor Gabriel Groisman said.
