Teen Survivor of Florida Condo Collapse Reunites With Rescuers as Recovery Efforts Come to a Close
A teen survivor of the Florida condo collapse reunited with his rescuers and thanked the first responders who saved him.
Jonah Handler's father, Neil Handler, posted the photos of the reunion on a GoFundMe page wherein he labeled the rescuers as "heroes," New York Post reported.
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Teen Survivor of Florida Condo Collapse Reconnects with His Rescuers
In the photos posted by Handler's father, the teen survivor smiled and posed with his rescuers. The father also posted one image with the four of them together.
The father of the teen survivor shared that the first time they saw Handler's rescuers were on newsreels as they were rescuing the teenager on the rubbles of the tragedy.
"Now with God's grace, we stand next to each other sharing thanks and hope," the father noted.
The name of the rescuers was not mentioned in the post. However, NBC Miami identified one of the rescuers as Nicolas Balboa, 55 years old. At the time, Balboa, from Arizona, visited his father in Surfside. He was walking with his dog early in the morning when he heard a loud noise and saw the Florida condo collapse.
"The Entire Handler/Fang family have no words to express the gratitude and respect for these men and women, who allowed God to use them as His hands to rescue Jonah," the teen's father noted, adding a special mention to the first responders.
Apart from the reunion, the teenager's father further noted that the 15-year-old survivor is now recovering from the physical injuries he sustained in the Florida condo collapse.
It can be recalled that the teenager, a grade 10 student at the Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, was the first person rescued in the Florida condo collapse.
His mother, identified as Stacie Fang, was also rescued and taken to a local hospital. However, she succumbed to her injuries, becoming the first identified victim of the tragedy.
Florida Condo Collapse: Death Toll Rises to 97 as Search for Missing Person Comes to a Close
Handler's reunion with his rescuers came as the death toll on the Florida condo collapse rose to 97, The Miami Herald reported.
On Thursday, July 15, Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade police, also said they identified six more victims, raising the number of bodies identified to 92.
The Miami Herald noted that the department's tally differs from a statement released on Wednesday evening by the Miami-Dade County, claiming that 90 of 97 bodies have been identified and that there were eight outstanding missing person reports.
Although 92 were identified, Zabaleta noted that they can't claim victory yet because of incidents like the Florida condo collapse, "is very rare to get 100% [missing persons]" until they clear every piece of the debris.
"We really haven't put up a timeline to it, but we know we're making progress," said Zabaleta, adding that they will continue their work until they are done.
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Written By: Joshua Summers
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