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SURFSIDE, FLA. (WSVN) - Rescuers have found four additional victims at the partial building collapse site in Surfside, including the daughter of a City of Miami firefighter.
Friday evening, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced another two victims had been found in the rubble Friday. Earlier in the day, Cava announced the discovery of two bodies that had been discovered overnight.
The discoveries bring the total number of dead to 22.
One of the four bodies found Friday was 7-year-old Stella, the daughter of a Miami firefighter, whom a family friend said was full of life.
“She was very shy, and she loved animals,” said Betty Matz Gelsky.
First responders feel the pain every single time they pull someone from the debris who is not alive.
“Every victim we remove, it’s difficult,” said Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Kominsky.
“I’m the father of two children. I have a 7-year-old son, and the thought of losing him in this way is unimaginable,” said City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
On Friday evening, authorities released the names of more victims in this tragedy: 85-year-old Claudio Bonnefoy and 69-year-old Maria Bonnefoy, as well as 56-year-old Bonnie Epstein.
David Epstein is still missing.
Officials confirmed 126 people remain unaccounted for and 188 have been accounted for.
“This tragedy has haunted so many of us because so many of us have known someone who has been in the building or affected by this tragedy,” Suarez said.
Rescue crews haven’t lost hope there may still be survivors who need their help.
Stella’s mother Graciella Cattarossi, Graciella’s sister and their parents are still missing in the rubble.
“Especially because they did find Stella, I want to believe they are together in the world to come, in eternal bliss, together like they were in this world,” Gelsky said.
Gelsky describes her friend Graciella as a world traveler and a talented photographer who found beauty in everything she did. But the most beautiful piece of her and her life has always been her daughter.
“Once she had that little girl, she became her entire world, and they were inseparable,” Gelsky said.
With fears the rest of the building could crumble, plans are in the works to demolish what is left of the Champlain Towers South building without it impacting the search for survivors.
Of the 22 people who died in this collapse, authorities have not released the names of one of those victims.
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