Bodies of Paraguayan First Lady's Family Members Found in Miami Condo Collapse
The bodies of three family members of the First Lady of Paraguay, Silvana López Moreira, have been found in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South Condo that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, last month.
On Thursday, the remains of Sophia López Moreira, husband Luis Pettengill and the couple's youngest son were discovered, National Chancellor Euclides Acevedo confirmed, according to Telefuturo.
"I regret and sadly have to report the confirmation of the discovery of the lifeless bodies of Sophia López Moreira, Luis Pettengill and the youngest of their children," he said. "We are still pending the search for the other bodies of our compatriots."
"This is authorized information, official information both from our Consulate in Miami and from people close to the family," Acevedo added. "I am very sorry to have to give this type of information."
The couple's two other young children remain among the many missing, as well as Lady Luna Villalba, a worker accompanying the family.
RELATED: Fla. Condo Collapse Search Turns from Rescue to Recovery Mission: 'There's Zero Chance of Survival'
Despite hope that search and rescue teams would be able to pull additional survivors from the rubble, local officials recently announced that the Surfside scene has turned from a search and rescue mission into a recovery effort.
The announcement came during a press conference on Wednesday evening, 13 days after the 12-story complex collapsed around 2 a.m. local time on June 24. During the conference, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said they made the decision with "profound sadness" and called it a "difficult decision."
"We have all asked God for a miracle, so the decision to transition from rescue to recovery is an extremely difficult one," Levine Cava said. There would be a moment of silence in front of the building around 7 p.m. local time before the transition to recovery officially takes place at midnight, she added.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said the possibility of someone still being alive beneath the rubble is "near zero," but he had not lost hope "for a miracle."
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According to The New York Times, officials met with the families of the missing before making the announcement public on Wednesday.
"Just based on the facts, there's zero chance of survival," Assistant Chief Ray Jadallah of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told the families in a private briefing, the outlet reported.
During a press conference days after the collapse, Jadallah said firefighters were listening for human sounds to find areas to concentrate on. But ultimately, the only survivors were retrieved from the rubble hours after the building fell.
As of Friday morning, the death toll from the condo collapse has risen to 64, CNN reported, citing Levine Cava's comments from a press conference the night prior. Meanwhile, 76 people are "potentially unaccounted for," the outlet added.
In total, 200 individuals have been accounted for and of the 40 dead who have been identified, 39 families have been notified, the Miami-Dade County mayor added.
