The infinite pain of the Miami firefighter who found his 7-year-old daughter under the rubble: the mother is Argentinian and still missing

The story encountered in the last few hours and generated a huge impact. The scene of a Miami firefighter dad finds his 7-year-old daughter in the rubble of the collapsed building it was quite painful. But information was added that further compounded the tragedy. The little Stella she was the daughter of Graciela Cattarossi, an Argentinian who lived with her parents and a sister in the Surfside building that collapsed last week.

The official Enrique Arango – who has not lived with Graciela and Stella in the South Champlain Towers – he has been a member of the Miami Fire Team for 10 years and, although he has not been assigned to rescue duties, he stayed in the area all the time in the hope of saving his little girl. But that did not happen. In the last hour of Thursday, they found the girl lifeless, as they continue to try to find the little girl’s mother, grandparents and the miner’s aunt, Graciela, Guido and Andrea Cattarossi, all from Argentine nationality.

Confirmation of the sad fact was made by the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, and other officials who have been working on emergency care since last week. They avoided giving details, out of respect and privacy and, above all, because one of them – Officer Arango – had been touched in the worst possible way by the horror.: “Tragically, one of the two bodies was that of the 7-year-old daughter of one of our Miami firefighters. They pay a tremendous human cost every day, and I ask you to keep them all in your thoughts and prayers. They really represent the best of all of us and we have to be there for them as they are there for us, ”said the manager.

In turn, the mayor of the city of Miami, Francis Suárez, added: “The firefighters of the city of Miami have lost a 7-year-old daughter from one of our own firefighters,” he said yesterday after -midday. “It was recovered last night by members of our search and rescue team from Task Force 2 Florida,” he continued, adding: “I am a father of two and have a 7 year old son and the thought of losing him this way is unimaginable.”

Until the last hour of Friday, those who confirmed the identity of those involved were the media as official bodies and authorities avoided giving names or other filiatory data. They explained that this was an express request from relatives, which could indicate the existence of some sort of legal controversy surrounding the possession of little Stella. Anyway, the station Telemonde 51 and other local Miami media identified the victims as Stella Cattarossi, who was in the building with her mother, Graciela Cattarossi, aunt Andrea Cattarossi and their parents, Gino and Graciela (sr).

Until the last hour of Friday, authorities had officially confirmed a total of 22 deaths. The last were four in number: the 7-year-old girl (who was not identified at the “express request of her relatives”), Bonnie Epstein, 56; Claudio Bonnefoy, 85 years old; and Maria Obias-Bonnefoy, 69 years old.

The moment of discovery

“I can tell you that he was the one who brought it down from the rubble.”, Margarita Castro, a member of the Miami-Dade search and rescue team and firefighter, described the excruciating moment in which firefighter Arango – her partner – rescued her daughter’s body from the rubble. “They were all there with him. It’s a very difficult time, as you can imagine. She is a 7 year old girl. All of us, his team and ours, were there when he took his daughter down, ”rescuer Castro continued, describing the terrible scene.

As specified Miami Herald, the father of the girl awake since the night of the tower collapse in the South Florida condo. He worked alongside his colleagues and supported them unceasingly since that day in the work of debris removal. According to media reports, after the discovery, around 200 people present carrying out rescue tasks accompanied the father during the pain.

Other journalistic sources of the place, such as the media Local10.com, confirmed that Arango, a ten-year veteran of the Miami Fire Department, visited the site with his brother during a vigil that lasted every day as they tried to find survivors. “When he realized we were close to where his loved one could have been, he stood next to some of his other fellow firefighters.said to the chain WPLG Miami Fire Captain Ignatius Carroll.

“We were able to get her in and at least give her a chance to say goodbye,” the man in uniform continued, while another rescuer, who asked to remain anonymous, revealed an even more heartbreaking moment of pain. : “They took her down and her father covered her with his jacket and placed a small American flag on the stretcher. He, her brother and the other firefighters who took her out escorted the body through a group of police and firefighters”.

“Our hearts and our prayers are with the families affected by this horrific tragedy, ”said Miami Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban, according to the network. Univision. Francis Suárez, mayor of Miami, also referred to the event and said that “The firefighter is very touched” after what happened. But he insisted on asking for respect from the family, without giving more information.

A missing Argentinian family

A wire from the press agency PA had confirmed that among the dozens of missing persons there was Argentina Graciela Cattarossi. She lived in apartment 501 with her seven year old daughter Stella at Champlain Towers South, in an apartment they also shared with their parents, Graciela and Gino Cattarossi. The fate of the four members of this family was unknown, with that of Andrea, a sister who is the architect of Pilar and who had traveled to visit her. Shortly after, we learned that the little she had been picked up by her firefighter father.

In the same Associated Press cable, in which the Cattarossi family case was reported, they quoted Kathryn Rooney Vera, their acquaintance, who gave details of the last moments before the ignition was cut off by the collapse. The friend said Cattarossi was a devoted mother whose devotion to her daughter “Has no comparison.” He also described her as a hard worker and a beautiful person loved by all.

Cattarossi and Vera exchanged text messages on the night of Wednesday, June 23, just hours before the building collapsed. The photographer did a photoshoot for Vera during her fourth pregnancy a few years ago and offered him the pictures to celebrate what they believed to be Vera’s last child. “She was happy to hear that she was pregnant again,” Vera said. “We are very devastated by what happened.” According to Vera, Graciela Cattarossi had lived in Miami for several decades.

As a photographer, Graciela Cattarossi he also worked for major graphic media, just like New York Times and Wall Street Journal Magazine, two prestigious publications in the United States. Also for local tourist magazines and even for American Way Magazine, the magazine that delivers to passengers on American Airlines flights. Also, gardening, home and kitchen magazines, like her work for the publication Martha Stewart Living, of American businesswoman, writer and TV presenter Martha Stewart.

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