SURFSIDE, Fla. – For seven days the Ainsworth family hasn’t spoken publicly about Tzvi and Itty Ainsworth being trapped under the rubble at the Champlain Towers South.
But they broke their silence to Local 10 News on Wednesday evening, saying that President Joe Biden should not make his scheduled visit Surfside on Thursday.
They are holding out hope for a miracle and say that every second in the search and rescue efforts is precious.
“We are concerned that the president’s visit will delay the search,” said Ezzy Wasserman, whose in-laws remain missing. “And we can’t delay the search for even a minute.”
“They are survivors and we believe that they will survive this,” said Chana Wasserman, Tzvi and Itty’s daughter. “It’s a tremendous deal. It’s their lives. It’s our lives. It’s everything for us.”
[MISSING: Loved ones name, provide photos of unaccounted for in Surfside collapse]
Chana’s mom and dad are her entire life. They just moved to the Champaign Towers South in September.
“I think every second matters, and I believe we are going to find our parents and we believe that we are going to wind up living with them,” she said.
“I want my wife to have her parents back,” Ezzy Wasserman said. “They meant everything to her. They mean everything to me.”
Miami-Dade County police have said that the president’s visit will not disrupt search efforts. The Ainsworth family says that’s impossible.
“We assure you that we have plans in place with the secret service and our federal partners that this operation will continue,” county Police Director Freddy Ramirez said at a Wednesday news conference.
The Biden administration has also said that the details of the president’s trip are being coordinated with officials on the ground in Surfside so as to not disrupt their search and rescue efforts.