Final Miami condo victim is identified more than a month after the disaster taking death toll to 98 - as officials say there is no evidence any of those killed survived the initial collapse

The final victim of the Miami condo collapse has now been recovered and identified more than one month on from the disaster, taking the death toll to 98 people.

Estelle Hedaya, 54, was the last person still known to be missing after the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, collapsed in the early hours of June 24. 

Hedaya's younger brother Ikey Hedaya confirmed her identification to The Associated Press, bringing the family's agonizing four-week wait for answers to an end and concluding the search for any more bodies. 

Miami-Dade police said her body was recovered on July 20. 

On Monday Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said crews found no evidence anyone who was found dead had survived the initial collapse.

In the hours after the building fell, rescue crews had said they heard 'tapping' coming from beneath the rubble, fueling hopes that some victims would be pulled out alive.

For several days, officials insisted it was a rescue and not a recovery mission but no survivors were found since the early hours after the collapse. 

The identification of the last remaining victim comes as Miami officials released new photos showing how the community pulled together to 'bring some form of closure to the families affected'. 

The final victim of the Miami condo collapse has now been recovered and identified more than one month on from the disaster, taking the death toll to 98 people. Estelle Hedaya pictured

Estelle Hedaya, 54, was the last person still known to be missing after the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida , collapsed in the early hours of June 24

Ikey, a 47-year-old real estate tax accountant from Brooklyn, told AP he was drawing strength from God following the recovery of his sister's remains, just as he'd seen his sister do in troubling times.  

'She always mentioned God anytime she was struggling with anything,' he said. 

'She had reached a different level spiritually, which allowed her to excel in all other areas.'  

A funeral for Hedaya has been scheduled for Tuesday.

Ikey told last week how he had given his DNA and even reluctantly visited the collapse site to see for himself what was being done to find his big sister. 

He told AP he had been hesitant to visit the site and come face to face with his sister's final moments. 

He told Associated Press the wait was torture and said he 'can't believe Estelle is in there somewhere'.   

Ikey said he was in disbelief that his sister was the only person left to find.  

'Hard to believe. My sister is the last one,' he said Wednesday as another day passed with no word on his sister. 

The balcony and living room of her sixth floor apartment were still eerily intact following the collapse. Ikey said he found the visit too much and left. 

'I can't believe Estelle is in there somewhere, and I didn't want to think about it,' he said.  

But at the urging of a childhood best friend, now a rabbi, they returned to the site to pray.   

Miami officials released new photos showing how the community pulled together to 'bring some form of closure to the families affected'

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah shared a heartwrenching video montage of photos from the last month's search and rescue efforts on Twitter Monday (images above)

The photos show emergency workers from various agencies, members of religious groups and community members working together at the collapse site over the last month

Emergency crews from different parts of the country and world are seen together amid the search 

Hedaya, a former New Yorker who loved to travel, lived on the sixth floor of the 13-story condo tower.

She was chief operating officer for jewelry company the Continental Buying Group a and also had a blog called 'Follow The Toes' documenting her travels, fitness tips and favorite spas. 

Rescuers had officially concluded the painstaking task of removing layers of dangerous debris and pulling out dozens of bodies just days earlier, with further searches of the rubble moving to a separate collection site.   

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Wednesday night the search for victims had been impeded by fire, water and other obstacles, and further identification of victims was relying heavily on the 'technical, scientific process' of pathologists.

'The enormous pressure of the weight of the collapse and the passage of time also make it more challenging,' she said.  

Last Wednesday, two other people still missing were finally identified, leaving Hedaya the only left unaccounted for.  

Authorities confirmed Linda March, a 58-year-old attorney who recently moved back to Miami from New York, and Anastasia Gromova, a 24-year-old who was visiting friends in the building, had been recovered. 

March's remains were found on July 5 and Gromova's on July 18 but both were only formally identified Wednesday.  

March, who lived in a penthouse in the building, and Hedaya were close friends.  

Jadallah went on to thank all the various search and rescue teams who came from around the country and the world to support the local crews on the ground

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews are seen together at the scene of the collapse above 

Some images show locals arm in arm in solidarity with one another supporting each other

One image showed messages and tributes being pinned to a wall in honor of those who were missing, feared dead amid the search

Jadallah told the families of victims that their loved ones 'will never be forgotten, as they have forever changed this community'

Leah Sutton, a close friend of both women, described them '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. 

'Estelle's love of God was unbelievable and unwavering.' 

Sutton, who has known Hedaya since birth and described herself as her Miami mama, said the two women celebrated most holidays and birthdays with her family.

Hedaya's boss Joe Murphy said 'the weirdest thing about this whole thing is that Estelle's best friend in the whole building is Linda.'

Gromova was on vacation at the tower with 23-year-old Michelle Pazos at her father Miguel's apartment. The bodies of Michelle and Miguel were found earlier.  

A total of 98 victims have now been pulled from the rubble, with everyone known to be missing now accounted for.

The victims spanned all walks of life and ranged in age from 1 to 92. 

They 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.    

Two more victims were identified Wednesday. Authorities confirmed Wednesday Linda March, 58, and Anastasia Gromova, 24, had been recovered

Estelle Hedaya and Linda March were close friends with each other. Hedaya lived on the sixth floor and March on the top floor 

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah shared a heartwrenching video montage of photos from the last month's search and rescue efforts on Twitter Monday.

The photos show emergency workers from various agencies, members of religious groups and community members working together at the collapse site over the last month.   

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews are seen combing through the rubble in some images while others showed locals arm in arm in solidarity with one another. 

One image showed messages and tributes being pinned to a wall in honor of those who were missing, feared dead amid the search. 

'Throughout the month we spent working at the Champlain Towers South condominium, we witnessed numerous groups of people come together at #Surfside under one common goal,' Jadallah wrote.

'Members of the community: you were instrumental in helping families who lost loved ones in this tragedy. 

'Elected officials, religious institutions, hotels, restaurants, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, everyone who provided care & comfort to those who needed it.'

Jadallah went on to thank all the various search and rescue teams who came from around the country and the world to support the local crews on the ground.

'I watched you work day & night, while being pelted by 35 mph rain or by the 103 degree heat index,' he wrote. 

'I watched one of you tumble down the debris pile, only to return right back to the pile. I, along with the millions of residents, will forever be grateful for your painstaking work.'

Jadallah told the families of victims that their loved ones 'will never be forgotten, as they have forever changed this community'.

'I hope that you find the strength you need to carry on in each other, in those new bonds formed, in those new friendships forged and in the everlasting bond we've created. You are all in my heart,' he wrote.

'May God bless you and watch over you all. #SurfsideStrong.' 

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's urban search-and-rescue team pulled away from the site Friday in a convoy of firetrucks and other vehicles - one day before the one-month anniversary of the tragedy Saturday.

The fire chief saluted their bravery, saying they had worked 12-hour shifts while camping out at the site and also dealing with the heavy emotional burden. 

The site of the June 24 collapse at the oceanside tower is now mostly swept flat and more than 26 million pounds of concrete rubble, mangled rebar and debris removed from the area where the building once stood. 

An aerial view of the site during a rescue operation of the Champlain Tower partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, July 1

Almost 100 people were killed when 55 of the 136 units in the 13-story tower collapsed in the early hours of June 24

The rubble has been moved to a Miami warehouse off site where forensic scientists are still at work examining it.

Authorities said the debris will be preserved as possible evidence for lawsuits and for other experts to review. 

A total of 55 of the 136 units in the 13-story tower fell at 1:25am on June 24.

Search teams spent weeks battling the hazards of the rubble, including an unstable portion of the building that teetered above, a recurring fire and Florida's stifling summer heat and thunderstorms.

The remaining section was demolished on July 4 when the site became too dangerous for rescue teams to continue searching for the missing and Tropical Storm was barreling toward south Florida, threatening to topple it entirely. 

With all the missing now accounted for, investigators can turn their attentions to determining what caused the building to collapse and whether or not it could have been prevented. 

It has emerged that the architect behind the tower was suspended for six months after a structure he designed collapsed during a hurricane over a decade before the Champlain Towers South was built. 

William Friedman died in 2018 at the age of 88, but when he was a young architect in his 30s he had designed commercial sign pylons that were part of the rooftop of a building in downtown Miami.

Search and Rescue personnel search in the hours after the collapse on June 24

The remains of the building were demolished on July 4 as Tropical Storm Elsa barreled toward south Florida fueling fears it would collapse

The pylons toppled following a storm in 1965 as Hurricane Betsy struck south Florida.  

The collapse was serious enough for at least one prominent Miami architect to alert the Florida State Board of Architecture who then suspended him for 'gross incompetency, in that he negligently, improperly, and carelessly' designed the 20-foot tall pylons.

While there is no known link between that issue and the Champlain Towers South collapse, investigators are probing whether there were critical failures in the initial design and in the handling of the building's maintenance in the run-up to last month's collapse.

Witnesses said they saw sections of the pool deck collapse into the garage below before the building fell.  

A consultant engineer warned in a damning October 2018 report that the Champlain Towers South had 'major structural damage' to the pool deck area and underground parking garage. 

The structural field survey report specifically raised concerns about the pool deck area, in which the waterproofing was failing, and the underground parking garage which was riddled with 'abundant' cracking. 

It said the tower was in need of numerous repairs around the base of the structure 'in a timely fashion.'  

William Friedman was suspended following the collapse of sign pylons at two Miami buildings as Hurricane Betsy ripped through the area above 

Meanwhile, it's unclear what will happen at the collapse site. 

A judge presiding over several lawsuits filed in the collapse aftermath wants the property sold at market rates, which would bring in an estimated $100 million or more. 

Some condo owners want to rebuild, and others say a memorial should be erected to remember the dead. 

On Wednesday a Florida judge said victims and families of victims will receive at least $150 million in compensation.

This includes about $50 million in insurance on the Champlain Towers South building and at least $100 million in proceeds from the sale of the Surfside property where the structure once stood, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said at a hearing.

The $150 million does not count any proceeds from the numerous lawsuits already filed since the June 24 collapse. 

Those lawsuits are being consolidated into a single class action that will cover all victims and family members if they choose, the judge said.   

Floorplans of the Miami condo tower have revealed where many the victims lay sleeping or were going about their lives inside their homes on the night of the horror collapse.   

Victims of all ages were spread across the 13 floors of the tower when it fell, killing almost 100. 

Using information released by Miami-Dade police along with public records and online appeals, DailyMail.com has created floorplans which reveal the true scale of the tragedy which has become one of the deadliest construction disasters in US history.   

 

DailyMail.com has compiled floorplans of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, using public records and information released by police. They show where many the victims lay sleeping or were going about their lives in their homes when the tower fel

The oldest victim was 92-year-old Hilda Noriega who lived in apartment 602.

Noriega, the mother of North Bay Village Police Chief Carlos Noriega, had only recently celebrated her birthday with her son finding a birthday card given to her among the rubble before her body was recovered on June 29.

A Miami firefighter pulled his own seven-year-old daughter from the rubble that same day.

Stella Cattarossi, 7, was sleeping alongside her mom Graciela in the family's fifth floor apartment 502 when it collapsed. Three of their family members were also killed. 

The youngest victim of the tragedy is one-year-old Aishani Patel whose body was recovered on July 6. 

Aishani's pregnant mom Bhavna Patel, a 38-year-old British and US citizen, and her husband Vishal Patel, 42, were also killed when they were inside their third floor apartment when the building fell.   

Also on the third floor was Theresa Velasquez, a Los Angeles-based executive for the Live Nation event promotion company. 

The 36-year-old had flown into Miami to visit her parents who lived in apartment 304. They both also died in the collapse.    

Other victims include Elaine Lia Sabino, 71, and Richard Augustine, 77, who were staying in the condo they shared on the 12th floor - the lower penthouse level - when the tower collapsed.  

The youngest victim of the tragedy is one-year-old Aishani Patel whose body was recovered on July 6. Aishani's pregnant mom Bhavna Patel, a 38-year-old British and US citizen, and her husband Vishal Patel, 42, (all pictured together) also died

Friends posting online said Stella Cattarossi's body was found alongside her mother Graciela

Sophia López Moreira, her husband Luis Pettengill and their three young children were on the 10th floor of the tower. Moreira is the sister of President Mario Abdo Benítez's wife Silvana 

The two friends lived in apartment 1210 - the apartment on the end next to the section that remained standing.

Sabino, a flight attendant who worked for US Airways and JetBlue, was found in the rubble on July 6, with Chicago native Augustine found hours later. 

They were next-door neighbors to Elena Chavez, 84, and Elena Blasser, 64, a mother and daughter who lived together in apartment 1211. 

Blasser's son Pablo Rodriguez said his mom had told her she was woken by 'creaking noises' in the building the night before it collapsed. He said he had thought nothing of it at the time.

Blasser's body was found on July 5 and her mom's July 6. The next day another 12th-floor resident was also recovered from the rubble.  

The first victim was found almost immediately after the collapse in the early hours of June 24.

Stacie Fang, 54, was pulled from the debris and rushed to Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, but died of her injuries soon after. 

Elena Chavez, 84, and Elena Blasser, 64, are pictured together. The mother and daughter lived together in apartment 1211

The oldest victim was 92-year-old Hilda Noriega who lived in apartment 602. Noriega, the mother of North Bay Village Police Chief Carlos Noriega, had only recently celebrated her birthday 

Tzvi (pictured far left) and Ingrid (pictured far right) Ainsworth, members of the Jewish community from Melbourne, lived in an apartment on the 11th floor of the building

Fang's 15-year-old son Jonah Handler survived after being trapped under the frame of his bed. He was seen being rescued from the rubble by emergency crews with the help of a passing dog walker.

Jonah was seen reuniting with his rescuers earlier this month.  

The mother and son lived in apartment 1002 on the 10th floor of the tower. 

Also staying on the 10th floor were some of the youngest victims of the collapse - siblings Alexia Maria Pettengill Lopez Moreira, 9, Anna Sophia Pettengill Lopez Moreira, 6, and Luis Vicente Pettengill Lopez Moreira, 9.

The young children were the daughters of Sophia Lopez Moreira, the sister-in-law of Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benítez. Their mom, father Luis Pettengill, and housekeeper Leidy Vanessa Luna Villalba also died. 

The family did not live in the building; they were celebrating Luis' birthday after the family traveled to the US for their COVID-19 vaccines. 

One floor above, in apartment 1104, lived Tzvi Ainsworth, 68, and his wife, Ingrid Ainsworth, 66. 

The couple split their time between Florida and Australia and were well known among Melbourne's small Jewish community. 

In apartment 903, lived Antonio Lozano, 83, and his wife Gladys Lozano, 79. The Cuban couple were about to celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary on July 21.