Couple With Chicago Ties Now Among 12 Confirmed Dead In Surfside, Florida Condo Building Collapse
SURFSIDE, Fla. (CBS Chicago/CBS News) -- The death toll in the condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida has now risen to 12 – and that figure now includes a couple with Chicago ties.
Christina Beatriz Elvira, 74, and Leon Oliwkowicz, 80, who came to Surfside from Venezuela, were found among the rubble over the weekend. One of their daughters, Leah Fouhal, lives in Chicago, and they were active in Chicago's Jewish community.
Search crews were working around the clock late Tuesday to sift through the wreckage of the Champlain Towers South building – coming from all over Florida and even Israel.
A total of 149 victims remain unaccounted for.
It's not yet clear how the building collapsed in the middle of night, though it's since come to the light that it had structural damage caused by failed waterproofing under the deck. A letter from the condo board's president to residents in April said repairs would cost millions.
Prosecutors are working to get a grand jury investigation into the collapse.