Looking back at the Surfside condo collapse 6 months later

Tragedy struck Florida on June 24, when the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside collapsed, killing 98 people.

Einat Glen wanted to do more than pray through the pain she felt, but she wasn’t qualified to search for missing people. She did the next best thing, volunteering to help at the family reunification center. Glen was one of many to help those impacted by the collapse.

“It feels like 9/11, like, exactly the same,” Glen said. “When you see it in the TV, you can’t believe. I remember I moved to the United States the same year 9/11 happened and I remember seeing it and not believing, and now again.”

Some of the first responders on Southwest Florida Urban Search and Rescue Task Force Six left from Lee County and headed across the state to help with recovery efforts. Once they arrived, they worked 12 hours on, 12 hours off.

They went “to make a difference, to help out our brothers and sisters on the east coast who need to make a difference,” said Greg Dewitt, task force leader for Florida USAR Task Force 6.

The recovery effort lasted nearly a month, ending on July 23. As crews worked at the site, families, friends and neighbors created a memorial for the missing just down the street. Flowers, candles and toys served as a sign of the lives lost.

“We were going to put this on the wall on the memorial to have hope for people to find people, and we were going to bring chips to the family and first responders so they can eat,” said Jasmine Vasquez, from Miami. “I just hope this can show people that everyone is together and we’re all from different places, we all want to help each other.”

People held vigils. More than 100 joined together on July 28, when organizers passed out white roses and glow sticks and people joined together to quietly meditate and create a space of healing. They also burned incense during the vigil as a way of cleansing the area of the tragic events that had occurred.

The condo building was in the middle of a required 40-year structural review and on the verge of a $15 million upgrade A new lawsuit blames the construction of another high-rise next door.