Yahoo Movies Officials Say Voice in the Rubble Heard After Surfside Condo Collapse Was Music Exec Visiting Parents
Theresa Velasquez/instagram
Almost a year after the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida, authorities believe they have identified a female voice that firefighters heard from beneath the rubble in the hours following the tragedy.
In a report released by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, officials said the voice firefighters heard at the site of the June 24 collapse belonged to Theresa Velasquez, a 36-year-old music executive from Los Angeles.
Velasquez was visiting her parents at Champlain Towers South when the building fell, the report said. While rescuers noted it was "challenging to hear the woman because of the distance," she allegedly told them she was stuck between a mattress and a wall beneath the rubble.
Ultimately, crews were unable to reach Velasquez before she died. The tower collapse took the lives of 98 people in all.
Velasquez's brother, David, told CBS affiliate WFOR that he accepted the findings of the investigation.
Joe Raedle/Getty The demolition of the partially collapsed Surfside condo building
"There is no way to know 100 percent," he told the outlet, "but it seems like the logical conclusion."
Velasquez's parents, Julio, 67, and Angela, 60, also died in the tower collapse, WFOR said.
According to the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue report, Velasquez's remains were located and removed from the site July 8.
The Miami Herald previously said Velasquez got her start in the music industry as a DJ in the early 2000s and spearheaded a movement to feature LGBTQI+ artists and songs after starting her own label. Velasquez later joined Live Nation as an executive.
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The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue report was released in response to a USA Today article that claimed the voice emergency crews heard the night of the collapse actually belonged to a 14-year-old girl. Their report disputes the story.
"We are currently reviewing the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue report," a USA Today spokesperson told PEOPLE. "The facts and the sourcing in our story are clear. We have no additional comment at this time."
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Last week, attorneys Harley Tropin and Javier Lopez said the families of victims and survivors will receive a nearly $1 billion settlement.
"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 in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
The settlement still has to be approved by Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman, according to CNN.
