Authorities in Florida's Surfside have identified the last missing person from the partial collapse of a residential building that killed 98 people last month.
Estelle Hedaya, an outgoing 54-year-old woman with a love of travel, was the last to be identified, ending what her relatives described as a torturous four-week wait. Her younger brother, Ikey Hedaya, confirmed the news to the Associated Press. A funeral was scheduled for Tuesday.
“She always mentioned God anytime she was struggling with anything,” he said.
Mr Hedaya said he was drawing strength from God, just as he had seen his sister do in troubling times.
The 12-storey Champlain Towers South building, facing the ocean in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, partially collapsed in the early morning of June 24.
Linda March, a 58-year-old attorney and fellow former New Yorker, was close friends with Hedaya. The two were the last three victims to be identified, along with 24-year-old Anastasia Gromova of Canada.
Leah Sutton, who knew Hedaya since birth and considered herself a second mother to her, said she and March were both “forces to be reckoned with”.
“My two beautiful amazing fearless friends saved for last, have to believe there was a reason for them to be last,” she said on Monday. “Estelle’s love of God was unbelievable and unwavering.”
Rescuers officially concluded the painstaking and emotionally heavy task of removing layers of dangerous debris and pulling out dozens of bodies last Friday.
"Today, I can report that because of these sustained heroic efforts, the last remaining missing person has now been accounted for and identified," said Daniella Levine-Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade county, where the tragedy occurred.
"Ninety-eight victims have now been identified, including 97 victims who were recovered in the collapse and one person that passed away in the hospital."
Even though all the unidentified victims have been found, Levine-Cava said police were continuing to search for evidence and human remains among the tonnes of debris from the building, which were transferred to a warehouse.
Except for a teenager rescued hours after the tower collapsed, they found no survivors in the rubble of the building and soon focused on recovering human remains.
Just over a month after the disaster, the exact reason for the collapse remains unknown, although preliminary findings have shown that some of the building's structure appeared degraded.
The rest of the building had to be evacuated after the disaster, and authorities demolished it on July 4, considering it to be a danger to the search and rescue teams.
The tragedy that befell the tiny town of Surfside prompted an outpouring of love from far and wide. People opened their homes and apartments to victims, children made thank you cards for rescuers, food was donated and tens of millions of dollars raised for the victims.
The dead included members of the area’s large Orthodox Jewish community, the sister of Paraguay’s first lady, her family and their nanny, along with an entire family of four that included a local salesman, his wife and their two young daughters, 4 and 11, who were buried in the same coffin.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
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It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Specs
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
