2 More Jewish Victims Identified At Champlain Tower Collapse Site

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Heavy winds and lightning from the hurricane closing in on the Florida coast hindered rescue efforts at the site of the Miami tower collapse, but rescuers succeeded in finding four more bodies, bringing the current total of victims to 36.

The grim search for survivors continued after the second part of the building was demolished allowing rescuers to reach new parts of the building which they had not had access too previously. So far no living survivors have been found since the day of the collapse itself some 13 days ago.

The names of three more victims were released yesterday by officials, two of them Jews from a family which has already lost a number of members: Jay Kleiman (52) whose brother Frankie’s body was discovered a few days ago together with his newlywed wife Ana Ortez, and the Kleiman’s mother Nancy Kress Levin (76). The family had left Cuba after the Communist revolution in 1959, settling in Puerto Rico. Later they moved to Miami where they lived in Champlain Towers which was a popular residence for Jews of Cuban extraction during the 1980’s.

The New York Times reports that during 2019 Mrs. Levin resigned from her position as deputy president of the apartment committee, together with Board of Directors president Annette Goldstein. The two claimed that they were frustrated by the continued opposition of their neighbors to plans for renovating the building.