Search and rescue personnel work at the site of Surfside collapse
Search and rescue personnel work at the site of Surfside collapseMIAMI DADE FIRE DEPARTMENT/Handout via REUTERS

A firefighter discovered the body of his seven-year-old daughter in the rubble left after the collapse of a Surfside, Florida, residential building.

According to BBC, the firefighter had kept watch at the site for nine days, and was present when his daughter's body was extracted from the ruins.

The girl, Stella Cattarossi, was one of two victims pulled from the rubble on Friday. Since then, two more bodies have been found, bringing the death toll to 24, and dropping the number of missing to 124.

Cattarossi, who according to local10.com was with her mother, grandparents, and an aunt visiting from Argentina, is the third child to be pulled from the rubble; the other two were located on Wednesday and have been identified as Lucia Guara, 4, and her sister Emma Guara, 10.

Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll told WPLG, "When he was made aware that we were close to where his loved one may have been, then he stood side by side with some of his other fellow firefighters."

"We were able to bring her and then at least give him an opportunity to say his farewells."

According to BBC, Cattarossi's father used his jacket to cover her body, and placed a small US flag over her before carrying her out of the area.

Meanwhile, the standing portion of Champlain Towers South has been ordered demolished within the next few days, to allow rescuers to search the site without fears of its collapse.