Rescue efforts at Champlain Towers South are ongoing, six days after part of the building collapsed, burying around 150 people in the rubble. Tragically, not a single person has been rescued alive from the building since the day the disaster occurred, but on Wednesday, Local 10 News reported that one attempt to rescue a woman from the debris failed even though rescue workers could, initially, hear her calling for help.
“Everybody that was there, that’s what we’re trying to do, get this lady out and comfort her ... She was asking for help and she was pleading to be taken out of there,” one rescue worker, who declined to be named, said.
“We were continuously talking to her ... ‘Honey, we got you. We’re going to get to you.’”
The woman was trapped in what was once the building’s garage, and between her and rescue workers were a slew of obstacles, depicted in a photo one of the rescue crew took: a dumpster, metal rebar, and a wall of concrete.
The rescue worker related that he and others rushed to reach the woman before it was even known if the building was safe for them to enter. Before he plunged into the debris, he texted his children: “Love you guys, always.”
“The first thing I remember is thumping on the wall and then I remember her just talking, ‘I’m here, get me out. Get me out,’” he said.
But none of them managed to reach the woman, even though they didn’t stop trying.
Local 10 News also learned of an email sent by a supervisor worried about how his crews would be impacted by the devastating loss. They were “involved with an active conversation with the female trapped next to the bed about 10 to 11 hours after the collapse … She was aware her parents were also trapped next to her,” he wrote.
However, the fire that broke out beneath the collapsed building forced emergency workers to temporarily withdraw from the scene until it was brought under control.
It is not yet known who that woman was or if her body has been removed from the building.