Last victim identified at condo collapse site
Published Date: 7/27/2021
Source: Tampa Bay Times
The final victim of the condo building collapse in Florida has been identified, more than a month after the middle-of-the-night catastrophe that ultimately claimed 98 lives. Estelle Hedaya, an outgoing 54-year-old with a love of travel, was the last victim identified, ending what her relatives described as a torturous four-week wait. Her younger brother, Ikey Hedaya, confirmed the identification to The Associated Press. The news comes just days after rescuers officially concluded the painstaking and emotionally heavy task of removing layers of dangerous debris and pulling out dozens of bodies. During a press conference Monday evening, Mayor Danielle Levina Cava also confirmed, that "the last remaining missing person has now been accounted for and identified and the family notified." The site of the June 24 collapse at the oceanside Champlain Towers South has been mostly swept flat, the rubble moved to a Miami warehouse. Although forensic scientists are still at work, including examining the debris at the warehouse, authorities said there are no more bodies to be found where the building once stood. Search teams spent weeks battling the hazards of the rubble, including an unstable portion of the building that teetered above, a recurring fire and Florida's stifling summer heat and thunderstorms. They went through more than 14,000 tons (13,000 metric tonnes) of broken concrete and rebar before finally declaring the mission complete. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's urban search-and-rescue team pulled away from the site Friday in a convoy of firetrucks and other vehicles, slowly driving to their headquarters. ------------------ For More News and Videos SUBSCRIBE and Turn Notifications On https://bit.ly/2r0BEND Get a Digital Subscription to the Tampa Bay Times https://bit.ly/2Xinunj Follow us: Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/tampabaycom Twitter ► https://twitter.com/TB_Times Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/tampabaytimes