Florida condo collapse: Couple married nearly 60 years found lying together when bodies recovered
The death toll in last week's collapse rose Friday to 22 -- with 126 people still missing
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Florida couple who would have celebrated their 59th anniversary this month were found lying in bed together when their bodies were recovered from the partially collapsed Champlain Towers building in Surfside last week, according to a report.
Antonio Lozano, 83, and his wife Gladys Lozano, 79, were two of the first victims to be identified in the rubble that had claimed 22 lives and left 126 missing as of Friday evening.
Heavy machinery sits parked outside the still standing section of the Champlain Towers South condo building, July 1, 2021, in Surfside, Florida. (Associated Press)
"They couldn’t stand a moment without each other. To this day I never saw them apart," grandson Brian Lozano told WTVJ-TV in Miami. "I’m finally at peace and I really hope for other families to get that sense of peace knowing that I got that sense of closure."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GRIEVING FIREFIGHTER RECOVERS HIS OWN CHILD'S BODY FROM RUBBLE OF FLORIDA CONDO COLLAPSE
The Lozano family said they were relieved to hear the couple had gone together.
Brian Lozano told the station he was happy to see politics set aside after the disaster.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When it comes down to life and our safety for a loving person we have to band together and stay strong to heal together," he added.
He said he was also grateful for President Biden’s visit to the site on Thursday. "He’s giving the word of hope and that’s literally what I got from the entire speech," he said.
Lozano said his grandparents used to joke about who would go first, neither wanting to be a lone survivor.
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"It's tragic but it's strangely unsettling that I have peace knowing they would constantly play argue about who would pass first," he told ABC News. "But in the end ... they got what they both wanted. Each other."