Official: Bodies of 3 Paraguayans Found in Florida Condo

A rescue worker walks away from the remains of the collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., on July 08, 2021. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

ASUNCION, Paraguay—Paraguay’s foreign minister said Thursday that rescuers had found in the rubble of a collapsed Florida condominium the bodies of Sophia López Moreira, the sister of Paraguay’s first lady Silvana Abdo, her husband Luis Pettengill and the youngest of their three children.

Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo told Paraguay’s ABC Cardinal radio station that the two other children and the family’s nanny, Lady Luna, are still missing.

“We ask people for their solidarity and a prayer,” he said. “In the face of a tragedy, Paraguayan people must show their traditional solidarity.”

Mementos, personal items, and flowers are seen displayed at the Surfside Wall of Hope Memorial in Surfside, Fla., on July 7, 2021. Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP

Rescue workers handle a tarp containing recovered remains at the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., on July 5, 2021. Lynne Sladky/AP Photo

Juana Villalba, mother of Lady Luna, is in Miami awaiting news about her daughter. Villalba traveled along with her niece Lourdes Luna from their South American country.

The Paraguayans were among several Latin American citizens who were reported in the condominium when it collapsed in June 24th. Others in the building came from Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay.

Rescue workers are now focused on finding remains instead of survivors.