Lady Vanessa Luna Villalba (23) lived in the twelve-story building that collapsed in Miami night to Thursday Norwegian time. She is said to have worked as a babysitter for the family of Paraguay’s first lady Silvana López Moreira.
Race for life: – No warning
Nine deaths
The first lady’s sister, brother-in-law and their three children, who owned an apartment in the block that collapsed, are among the more than 150 people who have not been accounted for.
According to the country’s foreign minister, the first lady’s family must have been in the United States to receive the covid-19 vaccine when the building collapsed.
MISSING: Lady Vanessa Luna Villalba. Photo: AP / Scanpix
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Nine deaths have so far been reported as a result of the incident. A massive search and rescue operation is now underway in the ruins.
The 23-year-old is said to have left his home country of Paraguay as a result of the family struggling financially. When she received a lucrative offer to work as a babysitter for the first lady’s family in Miami, she accepted, writes Miami Herald. The money she earned was to be used to complete her studies and support her family.
The job offer, which was supposed to open doors for the family, has now become a nightmare for them. The mother of Lady Vanessa Luna Villalba is said to have told the local press that she is desperate for news about her daughter. The last time she saw the 23-year-old was when the family said goodbye ahead of the Miami trip, she says.
– The scariest time since the start of the pandemic
Broken heart
On Wednesday morning, the daughter is said to have told her mother that she had landed in Florida, and that she was excited to explore Miami. She allegedly arrived at the residential complex just hours before the building collapsed.
– I’m asking for news about my daughter. I do not know anything about her, and I am desperate, says the mother, according to the Miami Herald.
– She is the most important breadwinner for our family, and she went to Miami to work. She went for us. My heart is broken, she says.
Several foreign nationals lived in the now collapsed building. According to the news agency AP, a total of 22 of the missing are people from countries in Latin America. It includes nine from Argentina, six from Paraguay, four from Venezuela and three from Uruguay.
