Four more Surfside victims identified as toll rises to 9 dead, 152 missing

The names of another four people confirmed killed in the Surfside condo building disaster were released Sunday night after their bodies were found in the ongoing search and recovery effort.

The remains of Leon Oliwkowicz, 80, Luis Bermudez, 26, Anna Ortiz, 46, and Christina Beatriz Evira, 74, were discovered after rescue workers labored overnight to dig a 125-foot trench through the rubble of the Champlain Towers South tower, Miami-Dade police said.

More than 150 people remain missing, although it’s possible not all of them had been in the building. Barring a miracle, it’s clear the disaster will rank with the worst in Florida history, with a death toll that could be more than triple that of Hurricane Andrew.

Of the nine confirmed fatalities so far, one died at the hospital and the others were found dead at the site.

Eight of the victims had been publicly identified as of Sunday night. The first four victims to be named were Stacie Dawn Fang, 54, Antonio Lozano, 83, Gladys Lozano, 79, and Manuel LaFont, 54.

Rescue workers were still searching for signs of life.

“Any void, any crevice that the team sees, that’s where they search through. Any that shows positive potential — any little bit of potential — the crews aggressively head in that area,” Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said at a news conference Sunday.

But hopes were fading.

Family members of the victims boarded two buses Sunday afternoon for a visit to the site in what Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava described as “a very private event.”

At Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Miami Beach, Father Juan Sosa read the names of missing parishioners from a list provided by the Archdiocese:

Gonzalo and María Torres, Apt. 912

Magaly Delgado, Apt. 911

Raymond and Mercedes Urgelles, Apt. 211

Hilda Noriega and a companion, Apt. 602

Julio and Angela Velasquez, Apt. 304

Juan and Ana Mora and their son, Apt. 1011

Graciela Cattarossi and family, Apt. 501

Marcus and Anaely Guara and their two daughters, Apt. 802

Three parishioners were among the 35 rescued.

Former Surfside Mayor Paul Novack said family members were retaining hope that their loved ones may still be alive. Among the missing were his friends, he said.

“A couple of nice friends, an elderly couple,” Novack said. “Most people in the community do know someone in the building. It’s hard for everyone. Everyone is doing the very best they can.”

Canadian developer

Meanwhile, new revelations were emerging about the building’s developer, Nathan Reiber, a Canadian citizen who built the condo in 1981.

Reiber, who died in 2014, pleaded guilty in Canada in the 1970s to tax evasion for skimming thousands of dollars from coin-operated laundries and issuing $120,000 in checks for phony construction work to cover up the tax cheating, the Washington Post reported.

The late developer’s activities are significant because questions have arisen about the quality of the construction.

Concerns raised in report

A 2018 engineering consultant’s report warned of “major structural damage” at the base of the building and also identified a “major error” in the placement of waterproofing on a flat rather than sloped surface, allowing the pooling of water.

The report to the condo association by Morabito Consultants said “failed waterproofing” below the pool deck and entrance drive at Champlain Towers South had led to significant deterioration of the concrete.

Replacing the waterproofing would be “extremely expensive,” the report stated, because it would require removal of the concrete slab above it.

“Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” said the report, which was signed by Frank Morabito, the company’s president.

Morabito Consultants issued a statement Saturday offering prayers and saying the firm was “deeply troubled by this building collapse.”

After completing the 2018 report, the firm was hired in June 2020 to create plans for the repairs, which would be done by another company.

“At the time of the building collapse, roof repairs were underway, but concrete restoration had not yet begun,” the statement said.

The report was posted on the Town of Surfside’s website along with inspection reports and other documents about the collapsed building.

To what extent the damage identified in the report was addressed by the condo association, or whether it had anything to do with the building’s collapse, was unclear.

Experts say the disaster will require an extensive investigation and may involve multiple causes.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said at a news conference Sunday that town staff were in the process of posting more building inspection documents to the town’s website for anyone to view.

Levine Cava said Miami-Dade County will conduct an “audit of all buildings at the 40-year point and beyond” over the next 30 days.

Relatives offer DNA samples

At the site on Sunday, rescuers in heavy protective gear used cranes, sonar, cameras and search dogs to look for signs of life.

Family members have submitted DNA samples to allow for the identification of human remains.

When a body is found, homicide detectives photograph, collect and send the remains to the Miami-Dade medical examiner’s office, police director Alfredo Ramirez said.

And although the focus remains on the rescue, at least two lawsuits have already been filed.

Plan to house residents

Burkett said he was working on a plan to temporarily relocate residents of Champlain Towers North, the collapsed tower’s “sister building,” which was constructed in the same year and remains standing next to the ruins.

The mayor said north tower residents have an “option to relocate.”

He said he didn’t plan to order residents to evacuate, but if he lived there, “I’d be gone.”

A cursory check of the north building shows it appears stable, Burkett said. He said a “deeper dive” into the north tower’s safety is proceeding and will take a few weeks to complete.

Warning: The following video may be disturbing to some

Pope sends condolences

Pope Francis sent a message of consolation Saturday through an envoy to Archbishop Thomas Wenski.

“The Holy Father has asked me to express his deep sadness at the grievous loss of life resulting from the condominium collapse in Surfside,” the message said. “He offers heartfelt prayers that Almighty God will grant eternal peace to those who have died, comfort to those who mourn their loss, and strength to all those affected by this immense tragedy.”

“With gratitude for the tireless efforts of the rescue workers and all engaged in caring for the injured, the grieving families and those left homeless. Pope Francis invokes upon the entire community the spiritual gifts of consolation, fortitude and perseverance in every good.”

Staff writers Brittany Wallman and Arlene Borenstein-Zuluaga contributed to this report.