Firefighter escorts body of his own daughter from Miami condo wreckage

The body of a Miami firefighter's seven-year-old daughter has been discovered in the wreckage of the collapsed Surfside condo.

Stella Cattarossi's father had kept watch in the area for nine days after she went missing following the tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, on June 24. BBC News reports that he had placed a vigil at the site for nine days and was on-site when she was extracted from the wreckage.

Stella's body was finally pulled from the rubble by rescuers of Florida Task Force 2 Miami on Friday (July 2),

CBS12 News reports that Stella's body was discovered alongside her mother, Graciela Cattarossi - taking the death toll from the tragedy to 22, with a further 126 people still missing.

Miami Fire Rescue Capt Ignatius Carroll told WPLG: "When he was made aware that we were close to where his loved one may have been, then he stood side by side with some of his other fellow firefighters.

"We were able to bring her and then at least give him an opportunity to say his farewells."

According to a witness, Stella's father - a ten-year veteran of Miami's fire department - covered her with his jacket, put a small American flag on the stretcher, and then escorted her body from the area, with members of the Florida Task Force 2 team, police officers, and firefighters lining the roadway.

No one has been found alive since the first few hours after the Champlain Towers South apartment block collapsed in the early hours of June 24.

The news outlet reports that residents of the nearby Crestview Towers Condominium were recently asked to evacuate by North Miami Beach Building Department on safety grounds.

Tower blocks in the area are now being investigated for structural faults following the tragedy on June 24.

As per the Daily Mail, the local TV outlet Miami Seven reports that an engineer report from January stated that Crestview is "not structurally nor electrically safe for continued occupancy".

Local10.com reports that Stella is one of three children whose bodies have now been recovered from the wreckage.

The bodies of sisters, Lucia Guara, 4, and Emma Guara, 10, were found on Wednesday (June 30).

CNN reports that Stella's grandparents Gino and Graciela Cattarossi, and Stella's aunt, Andrea Cattarossi are still missing.

According to the BBC, crews are still searching the site for missing people, despite the dangers posed by the wreckage and an incoming hurricane.

Featured image credit: Alamy / Planetpix