Miami landslide: they confirmed discovery of another body, death toll stands at 95

Search teams for victims under the rubble of the collapsed building in Surfside, Miami-Dade County, found in recent hours the body of one person and the death toll stand at 95, authorities said on Tuesday. The number of people not located after the collapse on June 24 for causes not yet determined was 14, But there is two of them that it is not known for sure whether or not they were in the building when it collapsed.

According to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, 85 of the 95 bodies found have been identified to date. The most recent are Aishani Gia Patel, 1 year old; Andrés Levine, 26 years old; Memoir by Moisés Rodan, 28; Mercedes Fuentes Urgelles, 61, and Raymond Urgelles, 61.

Among the victims, besides the Americans, There are Argentines, Cubans, Uruguayans, Colombians, Chileans, Venezuelans, Paraguayans and Israelis, among other nationalities. Levine Cava warned that the identification tasks are getting more complicated by the time that has passed since the tragedy and how it affects human remains.

Investigation into the causes of the collapse of the northeast wing of the Champlain South Tours building, in which there were 55 apartments, has already started. In any case, it is assumed that it will be long and complex.

In the courts, there are half a dozen lawsuits filed against the condominium association, which had been having structural problems since at least 2018, according to an engineering firm. What remained of the building was demolished on July 4, as the structure was unstable and made search tasks difficult.

Now we are studying what to do with the earth when the operation, in which hundreds of rescuers took part who worked tirelessly and in bad weather, conclude. Sufside Mayor Charles Burkett said this week he is studying the use of the place and consulting with the families of the victims to find out what they want, as it is a kind of “sacred place. “.

The end of the Israeli mission

Over the weekend, members of the Israeli delegation who joined the search and rescue efforts after the collapse They were fired in a moving ceremony at Surfside led by Levine Cava, who presented them with plaques and medals of recognition, before their return to Israel on Sunday.

Israeli rescuers marched on a street in Surfside on Saturday in what has been called the “reflection walkIn which Levine Cava and the mayor of that city, Charles Burkett, members of the rescue teams, also walked. relatives of the victims and the missing.

Miami-Dade police reported on Sunday that the identified bodies include the two other nephews of Silvana López-Moreira, the first lady of Paraguay: Alexia Maria Pettengill López-Moreira, 9, and Anna Sophia Pettengill López-Moreira, 6.

They are both sons of Sophie lopez–Moreira, the sister of the first lady, and Luis Pettengill, both aged 36, whose identity had already been identified by the authorities, as well as the youngest of the children, Luis López Moreira III, 3, and nanny Leidy Luna Villalba, 23. According to the Paraguayan consulate, the bodies will be repatriated to the Latin American country shortly.

(With information from EFE)

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