Miami Beach

Four more victims identified by Miami-Dade police after Surfside condominium collapse

Authorities on Sunday night released the names of four more people who died in collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in the town of Surfside, near Miami Beach.

The victims include: Leon Oliwkowicz, 80, who lived in unit 704 and was found on Saturday; Luis Bermúdez, 26, who lived on the seventh floor and was found on Saturday; Ana Ortiz, 46, Bermúdez’s mother, was found Saturday; and Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74, was found on Sunday.

As of Sunday night, officials had confirmed that there were nine deaths, 134 accounted for and 152 missing after the collapse, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police have now released the names of eight of the nine victims who died in the tragedy. The first four names were released late Saturday.

Sunday night, a Venezuelan government official tweeted his condolences for Oliwkowicz and Elvira, whom he said were Venezuelan.

“Nobody prepares us for such tragedies and harsh news,” wrote Brian Fincheltub, the Director of Consular Affairs of the Venezuelan Embassy in the U.S., in Spanish. “Unfortunately, two missing Venezuelans were found dead in Surfside collapse.”

Herald staff writer Bianca Padró Ocasio contributed to this report.

This story was originally published June 27, 2021 at 10:19 PM.

Follow More of Our Reporting on Condo Collapse: Disaster in Surfside

Joey Flechas
Miami Herald
Joey Flechas is an associate editor and enterprise reporter for the Herald. He previously covered government and public affairs in the city of Miami. He was part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the collapse of a residential condo building in Surfside, FL. He won a Sunshine State award for revealing a Miami Beach political candidate’s ties to an illegal campaign donation. He graduated from the University of Florida. He joined the Herald in 2013.
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