By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

SURFSIDE | Catholic Charities staff of the Archdiocese of Miami were on location and developing a response strategy yesterday near the stunning wreckage of a partially collapsed beachfront high-rise apartment building. 

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine announced Friday morning that 159 persons who lived in the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo in the beach town of Surfside remained unaccounted for, an increase from the 99 originally reported the evening of June 24. Around 120 residents had been accounted for, she added, but noted the numbers were "fluid."

Speaking to the Florida Catholic by phone from the temporary reunification center for family, friends and displaced residents desperate for information, a senior director of community-based services for Catholic Charities said she arrived at the “ground zero” site yesterday afternoon. 

“I have worked hurricanes, but nothing like this: It is just a look of sadness you see on everyone’s face. It is heartbreaking,” said Jackie Carrion. She said Catholic Charities is making temporary housing and material assistance available following the catastrophe. The agency is also collecting monetary donations to assist those affected.

The reunification center, Carrion said, was buzzing with law enforcement, other charities and emergency response agencies as well as local religious chaplains, including a Catholic priest from St. Joseph, the nearest Miami Beach parish, which is located a couple of blocks away from the collapsed building.

The 8 a.m. Mass at the parish June 25 was offered for the victims. At a press conference before the Mass, Father Juan Sosa, St. Joseph’s pastor, said 10 of his parish families who lived in the building are unaccounted for and two are accounted for. St. Joseph is also open all day today for anyone needing spiritual solace as a result of the tragedy.

Catholic Charities expects to add local counseling services for anyone in need, as more members of the local Catholic community are beginning to say they knew someone who lived in the building. 

At least one of those missing is Ana Mora, a just retired staff member at Belen Jesuit Prep in Miami, along with her husband, Juan, and their son, Juan Jr., a Belen 2007 graduate. The school sent out an email listing others who also are missing: the parents of another 2007 Belen graduate, Danny Urgelles; the brother (Richard) and sister-in-law of Frank Rovirosa, a class of 1978 graduate; Francis Plasencia, mother of 2009 graduate Pablo Plasencia; and Rosi Maza, the sister of a Jesuit priest, Father Manolo Maza.

There were also reports that two couples who are grandparents of students from Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, were among the missing.

St. Patrick Church, further south on Miami Beach, announced on its website Thursday afternoon that one of its parishioners, Manny Lafont, was among the missing. The church said school parents would be gathering in the church at 3 p.m. to pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy for those who perished, for the consolation of those suffering and for all those "working hard to save lives." The prayer was going to be livestreamed. UPDATE: Manny Lafont was identified by authorities the evening of June 26 as one of those killed in the building's collapse.

Video showing the building’s collapse in the early morning hours of June 24 and the subsequent news footage of the rubble brought to mind scenes of Sept. 11, 2001. Only four confirmed fatalities have been reported as of early morning June 25, but dramatic footage showed rescue workers yesterday pulling a teenage boy from the rubble. The teen is a student at Msgr. Edward Pace High School. His mother, Stacie Fang, 54, was extracted shortly after but became the first victim to be publicly identified. She died of "blunt force injuries" after being taken to Aventura Hospital. The family put out the following statement:

“There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Stacie. The members of the Fang and Handler family would like to express our deepest appreciation for the outpouring of sympathy, compassion and support we have received. The many heartfelt words of encouragement and love have served as a much needed source of strength during this devastating time. On behalf of Stacie’s son, Jonah, we ask you now to please respect our privacy to grieve and to try to help each other heal.”

Authorities yesterday said 35 survivors were pulled from the wreckage, but none since Thursday morning. 

There were some 55 units in the tower that collapsed, news reports said. An attached tower housing the remainder of the 136-unit complex remained standing Thursday afternoon but its residents have been evacuated. 

Law enforcement has said they expect the death toll to climb higher as the slow work of search and rescue continues. The collapse occurred at 1:23 a.m. Thursday morning and left what has been described as a horrific pile of “pancaked” wreckage. 

Teams of search and rescue personnel have been working around the clock at the scene while the community waits to learn what caused the event and if there will be more survivors. 

“I saw a lot of families supporting each other (today),” Carrion said. “There was a moment when the police called for a member of each family to go into the building (for private consultation). People want to know what is happening to their relatives, friends and loved ones.”

Catholic Charities, she added, has three rooms currently available for temporary housing at its New Life Family Center in downtown Miami and emergency food vouchers for survivors.

“I was able to speak with Father Sosa, who mentioned he was there earlier that day as well, and while I was speaking with him someone approached him requesting some kind of assistance and he attended to them. There are a lot of people helping, assisting the families,” Carrion said.

In a statement issued Thursday, Archbishop Thomas Wenski pledged prayers for the victims, their families and first responders. 

“We all woke up this morning learning about the tragic news of the partial collapse of a 12-story condominium in Surfside. Search and rescue teams continue to sift through the rubble to find survivors and to recover the bodies of those who did not. Our hearts go out to all those affected by the tragedy,” Archbishop Wenski wrote. 

“Our Catholic Charities and local clergy have joined with other voluntary agencies and faith leaders to assist in whatever way they can,” the archbishop added. 

The Surfside township north of Miami Beach is popular with a vibrant mix of South Americans, tourists, Orthodox Jews, Russians and others. 

Catholic Charities of Miami has announced an appeal collecting financial contributions for those affected by the building collapse but is not accepting material donations of food or clothing.

This report is being updated and corrected as more information comes in.