‘She didn’t suffer’: Missing woman identified as fourth Canadian killed in condo collapse

MONTREAL (CityNews) – A Canadian woman has been identified as the fourth Canadian killed in a condo collapse in Florida, her family confirmed on Wednesday.

Anastasia Gromova, 24, was previously unaccounted for after the June 24 collapse in the Miami area, which left nearly 100 people dead.

Her mother confirmed to CityNews that Anastasia was identified.

“We are going to have closure soon,” Larysa Gromova said. “It’s a relief.”

Gromova was with a friend, Michelle Pazos, for a vacation before Gromova left Montreal for an exciting opportunity abroad.

READ MORE: Two Montreal friends identified as dead and missing after Miami condo collapse

“They said that she didn’t suffer,” her mother continued.

“Just went to the bed and (fell) asleep.”

Gromova’s father, Sergiy Gromov, said his 24-year-old daughter and Pazos were close friends who lived in Montreal. They had decided to spend some time at the Surfside, Fla., condo belonging to Pazos’s father before Gromova left for a job teaching English in Japan.

“It was the last opportunity to be together, to spend some time together, to enjoy it,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Local authorities say at least 97 people died from the June 24 collapse, and as of Monday, 95 of those victims had been identified.

Gromova describes his daughter Anastasia as a “smart and strong” young woman who worked at an advertising agency in Montreal but was looking forward to other adventures. When she visited Toronto she rarely sat still and was always planning activities for the family, he said.

“She knew what she wanted in life,” Gromov said. “She always had a plan – and not just a Plan A but a Plan B, C, D and so on.”

Global Affairs Canada did not name the deceased but said it was providing consular assistance to the families.

Miami-Dade officials previously identified the first Canadian whose remains were found as 66-year-old Ingrid “Itty” Ainsworth, formerly of Montreal. She and her Australian husband, Tzvi, had briefly lived in Canada before moving to Australia and, eventually, Florida. The couple had seven children and were celebrating the birth of two grandchildren, their niece Chana Harrel has said.

The other Canadians have been identified as Gromovoa’s friend, Michelle Pazos, and her father, 55-year-old Miguel Pazos.