In a heart wrenching moment, a Florida firefighter discovered his daughter’s body in the rubble of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside Thursday night, WPLG ABC-10 in Miami reports.
The firefighter and his son, who is also a firefighter, worked with other first responders to free the girl’s body. She was put on a stretcher and her father covered her with his jacket. The two then escorted the body down the pile, as firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers formed a pathway onto the street.
The sad discovery was made after first responders restarted work combing through the remains of the collapsed building after efforts had been halted due to fears the portion of the building that remains standing could collapse. Engineers on scene approved continuing the efforts at 4:45 p.m. Thursday after doing an assessment of the scene.
Rescuers are not only racing the clock as chanced drop that survivors will be found a week after the collapse; they’re also keeping an eye on Hurricane Elsa, which is heading to the East Coast of the United States. Even though Surfside is not in the direct path of the hurricane, the storm could dump large amounts of rain on the scene, making the rubble pile and the other sections of the building further unstable.