Surfside Condo Collapse: Survivors, Loved Ones of Victims and More Speak Out 1 Year Later

Jen Juneau
·4 min read
SURFSIDE, FLORIDA - JUNE 30: People look at a memorial that has pictures of some of the missing from the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 30, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. The pictures were placed on the fence as loved ones try to find them. Over one hundred people are being reported missing as the search-and-rescue effort continues. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Joe Raedle/Getty Surfside condo collapse memorial

Several of those whose lives changed forever after the 2021 condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, are speaking out about their experience one year later.

The tragedy unfolded on June 24 of last year, when 98 people died as a result of the collapse at Champlain Towers South.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Friday's anniversary, Angela Gonzalez and her daughter Deven — who survived the tragedy but lost their husband/father Edgar Gonzalez — described the empty feeling their loved one's death has left behind.

"On days when we're doing fine, I'll forget that my dad's passed away. Or I'll think that he's working long hours, and he's going to come home. But he doesn't," said Deven, 17. "Then you feel guilty, like you're doing good without him. If you don't miss him, it's terrible. But if you miss him, it's terrible, too."

Angela, 45, added that despite what people see as "resiliency" in her and her daughter, that doesn't mean it's "easy" to move forward without Edgar. "It's not. It's so much easier to not come out of our bedroom. But we choose to face this every day," she said.

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Angela Gonzalez, right, holds hands with her daughter Deven, as both sit in wheelchairs due to their injuries during the funeral service for their late husband and father Edgar Gonzalez, 44, who was killed last month in the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse, on Friday, July 23, 2021, at Christ Fellowship church in Palmetto Bay, Fla. Angela and Deven were injured but survived the collapse, falling multiple stories.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell Angela Gonzalez and daughter Deven

RELATED: Nearly $1 Billion Settlement Reached for Surfside Condo Collapse Victims Weeks Before Anniversary of Tragedy

Capt. Eddy Alarcón told the Times that his "only regret" about his involvement in the search-and-rescue mission "is not having found a live person."

"I had all the training. But nobody's had this kind of experience except for the guys that went to 9/11. I dream about it. I can picture the faces. The things that we witnessed," said Alarcón, 52, who arrived onsite one day after the collapse and stayed for three weeks.

"Everybody was so physically and mentally exhausted. I came back with pains in places I didn't know existed," added Alarcón, who hadn't been involved in a search-and-rescue deployment for more than 25 years before the condo collapse.

Today, he makes sure to not "bottle anything up," and calls being able to talk to his family his "therapy." He also heads recruit training for the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, noting that he "couldn't deal with operations ... for the first couple of months after the incident."

But still, "I'd do it again. It would probably hurt me just as bad. But that's what we do," Alarcón said.

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Along with son Martin Langesfeld, Pablo Langesfeld has been lobbying for condominium reforms in Florida, and told the Times that despite the recent settlement for survivors and victims' families, they will not "stop pushing for answers" as to what happened and why.

"Somebody needs to be held accountable," said Pablo, 56, whose daughter Nicky Langesfeld and her husband, Luis Sadovnic, died in the collapse.

"Everywhere I go, I have a ghost in my head. Me and my wife, we cry every day. I didn't get to say goodbye," he added.

For Martin, 24, he "never thought [he] would miss" the "sibling fights" between himself and his sister until she was gone.

"No family member, after such a catastrophe, should need to beg and push their state leaders to make a difference," he also said.

SURFSIDE, FLORIDA - JULY 07: Search and Rescue personnel Maggie Castro (L) hugs Pablo Langesfeld as they visit the memorial to the victims in the collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building as the search and rescue efforts are reported be transitioning to a recovery operation on July 07, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. Mr. Langesfeld daughter Nicole Langesfeld is one of the missing in the collapse of the building. Officials say the death toll climbed to 46, with 94 still unaccounted for. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Joe Raedle/Getty Pablo Langesfeld (R)

RELATED: Final Victim Recovered from Florida Condo Collapse Debris, Bringing Surfside Death Toll to 98

The families of victims and survivors of the collapse are set to receive a nearly $1 billion settlement, attorneys Harley Tropin and Javier Lopez confirmed in a statement obtained by PEOPLE last month.

"We are pleased to announce that the plaintiffs steering committee, together with the receiver, was able to recover in excess of $997 million," they said.

Tropin announced the tentative settlement during a court hearing on May 11, according to CNN. It was approved by Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman this past Thursday — one day before the tragedy's anniversary, CBS News reports.

"It will never be enough to compensate them for the tragic loss. This settlement is the best we can do. It's a remarkable result. It is extraordinary," said Hanzman, per CBS News.