Two sisters who died in the Miami condo collapse share a single casket

‘It is not possible to express the essence of such beautiful souls, the light and the beauty, they brought into this world, unto our lives,’ says aunt of two little girls who lost their lives in Miami condo collapse

Lucia and Emma Guara shared a coffin decorated with their favourite colours after the decision of their family (AP)

Two sisters who died in the Surfside condo building collapse shared a casket when they were laid to rest alongside with their parents in Miami.

The two girls, Lucia, 11, and Emma, 4, are believed to be some of the youngest victims after the Champlain Towers South building disaster on 24 June. The decision for the sisters to be buried side by side in one casket was made by their family.

Footage captured at the funeral showed it was decorated with pink and purple bows and, according to WSVN, the girls loved everything to do with princesses and art. They died alongside their parents Marcus Guara, 52, and Anaely Rodriguez, 42.

The funeral for the family of four took place at St Joseph’s Catholic in Miami Beach. The service was led by Father Juan Sosa, their regular priest

“Family members were clinging on each other, and that’s good because they were able to hold one another and support one another,” he said to CNN.

Recently, social distancing restrictions have been lifted at funerals in Florida that were put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Father Sosa said that several members of his congregation have become victims in the tragedy and that he has not had the time to properly process his loss.

“Let us appreciate the quality of life more than the quantity. More than what we have, is who we are as family,” he said.

According their family obituary, the service took place on 6 July and people gave tributes, praising their solid family ties.

One person was filmed saying, “Their togetherness was so powerful that one could never imagine them being apart, and as I look down now we know that they’re never going to be.”

Ms Rodriguez’s sister Digna also spoke at the funeral to say goodbye to the family.

“It is not possible to express the essence of such beautiful souls, the light and the beauty, they brought into this world, unto our lives,” Ms Rodriguez said.

The death toll from the collapse stands currently at 64. Seventy-six residents are still unaccounted for. The emergency response effort has shifted from a search-and-rescue mission to a recovery operation.

Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said there was “no chance of life”, but was committed to giving families closure on Wednesday.

Another person laid to rest on Tuesday at St Joseph’s was 92-year-old Hilda Noriega, the mother of Carlos Noriega, the North Bay Village police chief.

Her grandson Michael Noriega spoke to WSVN about how he felt after seeing his grandmother’s building destroyed.

“When I saw the, what looked like a war zone movie scene that I never thought I would experience in reality, my grandmother’s building of all places, when I saw that, it felt like a piece of me died in that moment,” he told the news outlet.