NewsStateMiami-Dade

Actions

Another victim identified in collapse of Surfside condominium

bird's eye view of workers at Champlain Towers South collapse site, June 26, 2021
Posted
and last updated

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) -- Another victim was identified in the collapse of a 12-story Florida condominium that killed at least 97 people, authorities said Saturday.

The Miami-Dade Police Department said in a news release that Theresa Velasquez, 36, was a confirmed fatality in the June 24 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo. Her body was recovered July 8.

She becomes the 95th fatality identified in the collapse, police said.

The Miami Herald reported previously that Velasquez was a Los Angeles-based executive for the Live Nation event promotion company. She had flown into Miami to visit her parents at the Surside condo, both of whom also died in the collapse.

The bodies of Julio and Angela Velasquez were recovered and identified earlier.

The recovery effort at the condo site is slowly winding down, with perhaps one more fatality still buried in the rubble. Work is now shifting toward determining what caused the oceanfront condo to come down.

A judge is also considering what should be done with the building site. An outright property sale, government purchase for construction of a memorial or a combination of both are among the suggestions.