SURFSIDE, Fla. — Authorities in Florida identified the 12th victim of the deadly partial condo building collapse in Surfside as a 92-year-old woman as the search for survivors entered its seventh day on Wednesday.
Officials with the Miami-Dade Police Department said Hilda Noriega was identified as one of the people who died when the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the early morning hours of Thursday.
>> Related: Surfside condo collapse: Death toll rises to 12
Noriega was the mother of North Bay Village police Chief Carlos Noriega, according to city officials. Family members told the Miami Herald that she lived in apartment 602.
“She was 92 going on 62,” her grandson, Mike Noriega, told the newspaper on Saturday. “She was very youthful. She was young at heart.”
‘She was 92 going on 62.’ North Bay Village police chief’s mom missing in Surfside collapse https://t.co/nlQUUTLwHN
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) June 27, 2021
In a statement released by North Bay Village officials, members of the Noriega family said they learned of Hilda Noriega’s death Tuesday night.
>> Related: Surfside Condo collapse: Had the building been sinking into the sand?
“The family would like to thank all the hundreds of first responders, who bravely and selflessly risked their lives to locate his mother and the other innocent victims found to date,” the family said. “The Noriegas have lost the ‘heart and soul’ and ‘matriarch’ of their family, but will get through this time by embracing the unconditional love Hilda was known for.”
A statement from the Noriega Family. pic.twitter.com/rKyDwNoYKe
— North Bay Village Government (@NorthBayVillage) June 30, 2021
As of Wednesday morning, 11 other deaths have been confirmed in connection with Thursday’s building collapse. Authorities have identified the deceased as: Antonio Lozano, 83; Leon Oliwkowicz, 80; Gladys Lozano, 79; Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74; Frank Kleiman, 55; Stacie Dawn Fang, 54; Manuel LaFont, 54; Marcus Joseph Guara, 52; Michael Davis, 50; Anna Ortiz, 46; and Luis Bermudez, 26.
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Officials said Tuesday that 149 people remained unaccounted for.
Crews continued Wednesday to search the debris for survivors. Work at the site has been deliberate and treacherous. The pancake collapse of the building left layer upon layer of intertwined debris, frustrating efforts to reach anyone who may have survived in a pocket of space.
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“We’re dedicated to get everyone out of that pile of rubble, and reunite them with their families,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Tuesday at a news conference. “Nobody is giving up home here. Nobody is stopping. The work goes on – full force.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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