Bodies of two Australian victims found in Miami rubble after remainder of Surfside condo demolished
A husband and wife who had moved to Miami Dade from Australia are among the latest people to be found dead after the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Florida, according to police.
Ingrid Ainsworth, 66, and Tvzi Ainsworth, 68, were confirmed to be among the dead found in the rubble in Surfside by Miami-Dade police after the remainder of the partially collapsed block was demolished.
Previously, the married couple had lived in Sydney before moving back to Miami after twenty years away, relocating to be closer to their family as they had seven grandchildren. Their newest grandchild was born in the same week that the condo block partially collapsed.
Rabbi Citron, the leader of the synagogue they attended, spoke fondly about the couple and how devoted they were to each other.
He said to NBC 6 that Mr Ainsworth was “was a very easy-going fellow, very nice to talk to. Great sense of humour, very chatty. Just had a lot to say about his life and the places he’s been and jobs that he’s done and talking about his kids – just a great all-around guy”.
According to Rabbi Citron, Mr Ainsworth only missed worship if he needed to take his wife, who went by the nicknamed “Itty”, to hospital as she was receiving cancer treatment.
He also said that six families from his congregation had been impacted by the block’s destruction.
The couple’s friend Tzippy Kastel, currently based in their house in Sydney, paid tribute to Ms Ainsworth to the Guardian.
“She just had this huge, contagious love for life ... this amazing aura and an energy about her. People were really drawn to her. From joyous, to sad or to whatever it was, she was the one I would turn to,” she said of her friend.
She added, “It’s a huge family and because of the type of people they are, it’s a community-wide tragedy,” echoing Rabbi Citron’s comments.
In an Instagram post, Ms Ainsworth’s niece Devorah Lee Phillips wrote about her, “She fills up everyone’s buckets with an abundance of love and compliments that there is no space for negativity”.
Mr and Ms Ainsworth were among the four people discovered on 5 July, a discovery that took the total death toll from the building collapse to 28.
There are still 117 people missing since the condo partially fell on 24 June. On Sunday, the remainder of the building was brought down by rescuers to assist with their search.
The effort to find people has been extensive, often going 24 hours a day, with rescuers battling harsh weather conditions from nearby Tropical Storm Elsa and involving international help.
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