A HEARTBREAKING DISCOVERY

Surfside building collapse: Firefighter finds his own kid's body in rubble, death count reaches 20

 

By Pragati Pal  

 

meaww

July 2, 2021

 

 

The seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter supporting recovery efforts at the Surfside condo collapse site was discovered in the rubble on Thursday

 

As the search and rescue operations at the Surfside Miami Condo collapse resume, a Miami firefighter working at the site recovered the remains of his own child, officials reported on Friday, July 2. The firefighter's 7-year-old kid's body was found in the rubble. The death count has reached 20, as per the latest reports, while around 128 people are still unaccounted for.

 

According to reports, the grieving father wrapped the 7-year-old kid's body in his jacket and placed a small US flag on the gurney. The victim's uncle was also among the rescuers. The discovery was made late Thursday evening. Neither the firefighter's or his kid's identities were revealed by the officials.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava spoke of the incident on Friday and said, "It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult for everybody, and particularly the families that have been impacted." She added, "But last night was uniquely different. These men and women are paying an enormous human toll each and every day.” Cops and firefighters lined a road near the building site as the dad, his brother and other first responders took the body off the pile, reports say.

Miami Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Zahralban said, "We can confirm that a member of our City of Miami Fire Department family has lost his 7-year-old daughter in the collapse. She was recovered last night by members of our Urban Search and Rescue Team, Florida Task Force 2.” Zahralban further added, "We ask that you respect the privacy of the immediate family as well as our fire department family while we grieve our loss and support our own,” he said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed the incident during the briefing, saying that “these are tough things” for the workers to deal with. "Obviously we focus on the families and rightfully so, but our folks have gone through a lot that are out there, " the governor said.