Surfside building collapse victim’s mother lashes out at DeSantis for “not doing enough”
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SURFSIDE, Florida –Governor Ron DeSantis was standing in a large room at the Grand Beach Hotel Surfside on Saturday when an official said search and rescue teams found human remains. A group of relatives began to sob.
A distraught mother stood up in front of a group of parents and faced the group of officials. The crews worked overnight, in the rain, and even at the risk of being trapped in one of the many spontaneous fires.
Dealing with curved concrete in front of an unstable structure was a tedious and delicate process for a team of experts. And the last few days have been an excruciatingly agonizing wait for the families of the victims.
“It’s not enough,” a distraught mother told DeSantis. “Imagine if your kids were in there. You are going to leave here and you are going to take a nice picture. I know you are doing all you can, but it is not enough.
The family nightmare began after the north section of the 12-story South Champlain Towers collapsed shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday at 8777 Collins Ave. Magally Ramsey’s mother, Magally Delgado, 80, lived on the 9th floor.
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“It’s really hard for some families to hear this because people want to start figuring out where these victims are, regardless of the outcome,” Ramsey said, adding that she had not lost hope that ‘there could be “a miracle”.
On Saturday evening, the Miami-Dade Police Department released the identities of four of five people whose officials have confirmed were dead after the building collapsed. They were Stacie Dawn Fang, 54, Antonio Lozano, 83, Gladys Lozano, 79, and Manuel “Manny” LaFont, 54.
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Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said there were still 156 people missing.
The death toll will continue to rise. Search and rescue teams found bodies and human remains in the rubble on Saturday, and the medical examiner’s office had yet to identify them when police made the announcement.
The city welcomes those awaiting information on missing loved ones at the Grand Beach Hotel Surfside at 9449 Collins Ave. Levine Cava said there were two daily briefings for relatives.
For more information or to report the status of a loved one missing, call 305-614-1819 or 305-993-1071.
Coverage on Saturday
Coverage on Friday
Thursday coverage
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