The day after crews at the site of a massive condo building collapse solemnly transitioned from a rescue to a recovery mission, the death toll rose to 79 confirmed victims after the discovery of more than a dozen bodies, USA Today reports.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Friday evening 61 people remain potentially unaccounted for. Of the 79 confirmed deaths, 53 have been identified.
In a "small piece of good news," Levine Cava said a cat living on the building's 9th floor was recently found and reunited with its family.
Miami-Dade police released the names of eight additional victims Friday afternoon. Among them was Sophia López Moreira, the sister of the first lady of Paraguay, as well as Moreira's husband, Luis Pettengill, and 3-year-old Luis Lopez Moreira III, one of their three children.