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They identify the woman whose voice was heard in the rubble of the collapse of the Surfside condominium

2022-05-18T12:57:20.194Z


Rescue teams heard the voice of Theresa Velasquez, 36, but were unable to locate and save her. Her body was recovered two weeks after the event.


By Chantal Da Silva -

NBC News

A woman whose voice could be heard by rescue teams from the rubble of the condominium tower that collapsed in Surfside, Florida, last June, has been identified.

On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department said it was the voice of Theresa Velasquez, 36, that rescuers had heard from the rubble but were unable to reach.

[Surfside Collapse Exposes a Threat Authorities Ignore: Salt Water Rising from the Ground]

Velásquez was a music industry executive who lived in Los Angeles, California, and worked for the global entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment, according to the NBC Miami network.

Her body was recovered on July 8, two weeks after the building collapsed.

The 36-year-old woman had told first responders she was at the Surfside apartment to visit her parents, according to the fire department.

Her parents, Julio and Ángela Velásquez, also died in the collapse, according to the same source.

'There's no amount you'll get back to your mother,' says father of Surfside collapse survivor

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In a statement shared with NBC Miami, Live Nation described Velasquez as "a passionate leader" who "elevated every project she was a part of, while also breaking down barriers for women, and the LGBTQIA+ community."

"We will always remember and honor the impact she had, and she will be sorely missed," the company said.

Our sister network NBC News has contacted Live Nation for further comment.

[The story of Leidy Luna: she was studying to be a nurse and taking care of the children of the Paraguayan first lady's family in the building that collapsed in Surfside]

The 12-story Champlain Towers South condominiums collapsed in the early hours of June 24 in a deadly incident in which residents were buried under the rubble.

At least 98 people were killed in the collapse, which occurred during a 40-year structural overhaul of the residence, according to The Associated Press news agency.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation law enforcement vessel patrols in front of the Champlain Towers South condominium, where dozens of people were killed, Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. Lynne Sladky / AP

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department said first responders had been alerted to Velasquez's presence after search and rescue dogs "picked up the scent of a live victim under the parking lot."

The rescuers began to scream and could finally make out the woman's feeble responses, but they were unable to rescue her in time.

[A law repealed a decade ago may have sped up the repair of the Surfside building, experts say]

Firefighters said earlier news reports had identified the person believed trapped under the rubble as 14-year-old Valeria Barth.

However, fire officials said evidence suggested the victim was actually Velasquez.

The collapse sparked a series of lawsuits.

Earlier this month, a nearly $1 billion interim settlement was reached in a class action lawsuit brought by the families of the victims and survivors of the crash.

Meanwhile, in December, a Florida grand jury presented a list of recommendations to prevent a repeat of such a landslide, including earlier and more frequent inspections.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-05-18

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