Tears and prayers mark end to two-week search
SURFSIDE, Fla., July 8, (AP): A somber moment of silence marked the end of the two-week search for survivors of a Florida condominium collapse, as rescue workers stood at solemn attention and clergy members hugged a line of local officials while many of them sobbed.
The painstaking search for survivors shifted to a recovery effort at midnight Wednesday after authorities said they had come to the agonizing conclusion that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside.
When the decision was made to transition to recovery mode, “It took a little piece of the hearts of this community,” US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said at a news conference Thursday.
The death toll stood at 60 Thursday morning, Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Thursday. Officials said 80 people were unaccounted for, although detectives were still working to verify that each of those listed as missing was actually in the building when it collapsed.
Rescuers had spent two weeks digging through the rubble, searching in vain for any sign of life, Levine Cava said.
“They’ve used every possible strategy, and every possible technology available to them to find people in the rubble,” she said. “They’ve removed over 7 million pounds of concrete and debris from the mound. They’ve used sonar, cameras, dogs, heavy machinery. They’ve searched for void spaces and they’ve searched for victims. They ran into a building they were told could collapse, and they braved fire, smoke, torrential rain, and strong winds in the hopes of finding people alive.”
Hours before the formal transition from rescue to recovery mission, those emergency workers joined local officials, rabbis and chaplains in a moment of silence.
An accordion player unseen on a nearby tennis court played Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” which was followed by a piccolo playing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Firefighters from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the federal government and elsewhere were also present.
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On a tall nearby fence, families and well-wishers had posted photos of the victims, supportive messages and flowers. Firefighters hung a banner atop the fence that read “Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Mourns With You.”
Officials vowed to continue the recovery efforts until they find the remains of every one of the missing.
Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told families during a private briefing that crews would stop using rescue dogs and listening devices.
“Our sole responsibility at this point is to bring closure,” he said, as relatives cried in the background.
Later, during a news conference, Jadallah said crews remained committed to doing whatever it takes to finish the job.
“The resources are still there. The men and women are still there. The support is still there,” said Jadallah, who began crying silently after he spoke.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said he expects the recovery effort will take several more weeks.
Dennis Dirkmaat, an anthropology professor who chairs the Department of Applied and Forensic Sciences at Mercyhurst University, said he expects crews will use heavy equipment in a “top down approach” to methodically lift material off the debris pile, place it in containers and evaluate it for evidence of human remains. He said the process would likely be repeated as the crews move to subsequent floors.
“It’s still a process, slow, tedious process of removing all of this debris. And so it’s going to take a while,” he said.
Hope of finding survivors was briefly rekindled after workers demolished the remainder of the building, allowing rescuers access to new areas of debris.
Some of those voids did exist, mostly in the basement and the parking garage, but no survivors emerged. Instead, teams recovered more than a dozen additional victims. Because the building fell in the early morning hours, many were found dead in their beds.
No one has been pulled out alive since the first hours after the 12-story building fell on June 24.
Suspend
Twice during the search operation, rescuers had to suspend the mission because of the instability of the remaining part of the condominium building and the preparation for demolition.
After initially hoping for miraculous rescues, families had slowly braced themselves for the news that their relatives did not survive.
“For some, what they’re telling us, it’s almost a sense of relief when they already know (that someone has died) and they can just start to put an end to that chapter and start to move on,” said Miami-Dade firefighter and paramedic Maggie Castro, who has updated families daily.
Authorities are launching a grand jury investigation into the collapse and at least six lawsuits have been filed by Champlain Towers families.
Meanwhile, the bodies of two young sisters pulled from the rubble of a Florida condo building - so tiny that the 4 and 11-year-olds were placed in the same casket - were buried alongside their parents Tuesday, their white coffin draped with innocent pink and purple ribbons.
Lucia Guara, “Lulu bear,” loved watching “Jeopardy” with her dad, dancing and doing yoga with her mother. Her baby sister, Emma, was the princess of the family, a natural artist, who enjoyed her dad’s piggyback rides and cuddling with her mom, family member Digna Rodriguez said.
The hourlong funeral was held at the family’s Catholic parish, St. Joseph, just three blocks from where the Champlain Towers South building partially collapsed, killing the Guara sisters, their parents, Marcus Guara and Anaely Rodriguez, and dozens of others. More than 100 are still missing. Fighting heavy rains and winds from a tropical storm, rescuers continued digging through piles of pulverized concrete and twisted steel for a 13th day Tuesday in Surfside.
The now-razed condominium building overlooks the parking lot of the church where Emma was baptized in 2016 and Lucia had her first communion in 2019.
The Rev. Juan J. Sosa asked for continued prayers.
“We still have about 15 of our other parishioners missing,” he said. The pastor reminded those in attendance that death does not define them, saying God’s strength is always present, especially in trials.
Family members wiped away tears and clung to each other in emotional embraces throughout the service, especially during the singing of “Amazing Grace” as the caskets were being carried out of the church at the end.
“May we all connect with family as Lucia would. May we all move with grace as Emma would. May we all be as devoted and loyal as Marcus and Anaely were,” Rodriguez said.
Marcus Guara’s cousin, Peter Milián, encouraged others to follow the family’s example by fully embracing the present moment and loving those around them.
“This cooler than cool guy melted all over his daughters. He loved being a father,” Milián said, describing how he proudly participated in Lucia’s made-up news shows and Emma’s obstacle courses.
A competitive athlete and successful salesman, Marcus, 52, enjoyed life’s small pleasures the most, like walking on the beach with his family. Anaely was a thinker and problem solver, a protective mother who embraced Emma’s creativity and was Lucia’s role model, Digna Rodriguez said.
Lucia had a fierce love for her extended family, and was a big-hearted child who easily connected with others. A few months ago, she stuffed all of her birthday and tooth fairy money into an envelope and asked her dad to send it to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, saying, “They need it more than I do,” her father posted on Facebook.