Miami building collapse: Relatives face agonising wait for news
Anguished families face an agonising wait for information about their loved ones following the Miami building collapse last Thursday.
Nine people have been confirmed dead and 152 people are still missing.
On Sunday, a number of relatives were taken to the site, some shouting the names of their missing family members in the hope of getting a response.
Those missing include a devoted grandmother, a beloved teacher and the sister of Paraguay’s first lady.
The search for survivors has been slow at the Champlain Tower apartment complex, as rescuers sort through the rubble in sweltering heat and high humidity.
Relatives called on authorities to do more during a meeting over the weekend.
“It’s not enough. Imagine if your children were in there,” one mother told officials.
Here is what we know about some of those who have died, and some of those who are still missing.
‘They didn’t want to be apart from each other’
Antonio Lozano, 83, and his wife Gladys, 79, are among those confirmed dead after their son Sergio Lozano gave officials a DNA sample.
They were about to celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary in July and had known each other for more than 60 years.
The couple used to joke that neither wanted the other one to die first, because they did not want to be apart from each other.
Mr Lozano could see his parent’s apartment from his own home and heard the crash of the collapse. When he ran to the window, he could no longer see their apartment.
He told reporters that he took some comfort in the knowledge that they “went together and went quickly”.
A father who loved baseball with his son
Manuel LaFont, 54, lived on the eighth floor of the building and has also been confirmed dead.
Mr LaFont’s two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, had been spending time with him that day, but were picked up by their mother – Mr LaFont’s ex-wife – just hours before the collapse.
He would often be found playing baseball with his young son, the Miami Herald reports.
Danny Berry, director of the Miami Beach Youth Baseball League, told the paper that “they were out there [playing baseball] until the lights went out”.
‘Our beloved Stacie’
The first victim to be officially named was Stacie Fang, whose 15-year-old son, Jonah Handler, was rescued from the rubble hours after the collapse.
According to US media, Ms Fang was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center on Thursday. Her funeral is due to take place on Sunday in New Jersey, NBC6 reported.
In a statement, her family expressed thanks for the outpouring of sympathy and support they had received.
“There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Stacie,” it read.
Agencies