Remembering those who died in the condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida
The bodies of 18 people have been recovered after an oceanfront condominium building suddenly buckled and collapsed on Thursday, June 24, in Surfside, Florida.
As of Thursday, there were 145 people unaccounted for, as desperate families continued their vigil in the beachfront barrier island community.
Workers continued, in relentless 12-hour shifts, sifting through the rubble and listening for signs of life in the search for possible survivors. As the search for survivors continues, authorities have begun to release the identities of the deceased.
Those who've been identified so far are:
Michael Davis Altman, 50
Christina Beatriz Elvir, 74
Luis Bermudez, 26
Stacie Dawn Fang, 54
Emma Guara, 4
Lucia Guara, 10
Marcus Joseph Guara, 52
Andreas Giannitsopoulos, 21
Frank Kleiman, 55
Antonio Lozano, 83
Gladys Lozano, 79
Manuel "Manny" LaFont, 54
Leon Oliwkowicz, 80
Anna Ortiz, 46
Hilda Noriega, 92
Anaely Rodriguez, 42
This list will be updated as USA TODAY Network reporters continue to share more stories about those who died after the tower collapsed.
Leon Oliwkowicz and Cristina Beatriz Elvira
The couple were among the first to be identified
Leon Oliwkowicz and Cristina Beatriz Elvira were Venezuela natives who recently came to America, joining children they had already sent here, to escape the growing political and economic crisis in their home country.
In Surfside, the couple was part of a large Jewish community, and among more than a dozen members of the Shul of Bar Harbour who lived in the collapsed portion of Champlain Towers.
He was 80 and she was 74. They left behind four children and 11 grandchildren.
Read more about their story here.
Marcus Guara
He was the kind of guy who snuck into the hospital to visit a friend despite COVID-19 limitations on visitors
Marcus Guara, a 52-year-old Miami native, was known for being generous, genuine and was loved by everyone.
Guara was a salesman for a company that sold supplies to hotels and traveled often for work. He went to the University of Miami. He was active: running, hiking, surfing, swimming, scuba diving and rowing with the Miami Rowing Club of Key Biscayne.
His wife, Ana, and their daughters, 13-year-old Lucia and 4-year-old Emma, still are missing.
Michael Altman
He lived in apartment 1101 at Champlain Towers South
Facebook posts suggest Michael Altman, 50, was an avid racquetball player and originally from Costa Rica. His sister said in a Facebook post that the discovery of his remains means that she and her family “finally have some peace.”
“Please keep my parents, Michael’s boys and my kids in your prayers,” Debbie Altman, who lives in Miami, asked friends.
His son, Nicholas Altman, posted a photograph on Facebook of his father after the building collapsed.
“This is my dad," he said, "who I love more than anything."
Stacie Dawn Fang
The first victim to be identified; her 15-year-old son was pulled alive from the wreckage
Stacie Fang, 54, was the vice president of Customer Relationship Management Conference, a company that produces an annual event in Chicago for customer relationship management retail and marketing executives. She had worked at the Surfside-based firm for 12 years.
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department told the New York Times that Fang had been pulled from the wreckage of the condo and taken to Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead of blunt force trauma.
Fang's teen son is a sophomore, junior-varsity baseball player at a local high school, according to Miami's WSVN. The boy was rescued by a man who was walking his dog near the building at the time of the collapse.
Antonio and Gladys Lozano
The couple would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in July
Antonio, 83, and Gladys, 79, lived in unit 903 in the South tower. The couple was among a group of older Cubans who lived in the condo complex.
Their son, Sergio Lozano, said if there's any solace in their deaths, it's in knowing the two “went together and went quickly.”
“I was told they were in bed together. That’s the end of the romantic story,” he said.
Sergio was able to have dinner with his parents just hours before the collapse Thursday morning. He lives in the Champlain Towers sister condo building across the way and could see his parents' place from his balcony.
The couple is survived by their sons, Sergio and Antonio Jr., grandson Brian and other family members.
Read more about the Lozanos here.
Manuel ‘Manny’ LaFont
The father of two said he wanted his life to mean something
Manuel LaFont, 54, once told a reporter, "When I die, I want to say that my life meant something. I want to help people. I want to do something good in this world."
LaFont grew up in Houston before moving to South Florida. He owned condo unit 801 and was hailed as a devoted father, a coach and a business consultant, according to the Miami Herald.
LaFont's ex-wife said on social media she had picked up their two children, Mia, 13, and Santi, 10, at Champlain Towers only hours before the collapse.
According to the Miami Herald, Manny LaFont could often be found on the baseball diamond, playing with his son, whose team — The Astros at North Shore Park — he coached. Together, they shared a passion for the game. He told Adriana he planned to take Santi fishing soon.
LaFont worked at Lindsay Transportation Solutions, where he led a roadway safety division. He also was a parishioner at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Miami Beach.
Related coverage
Here are links to some of our recent stories about this tragedy.
How to help victims of Surfside devastation, things to know
Collapsed Miami condo had been sinking into Earth as early as the 1990s, researchers say
Inspection reports for collapsed Miami-area condo detail 'major structural damage' over garage
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Miami condo collapse victim names: List of people who died in Surfside
