Remains of McGill graduate killed in Surfside tragedy found
Anna Gromova says there hasn’t been a day she hasn’t cried -- and it’s been 27 days.
“It’s been extremely hard. It’s almost been one month,” she told CTV News.
Her 24-year-old sister Anastasiya was among the last people still missing from the collapse of a condominium tower in Surfside June 24.
Authorities identified the woman's remains on Wednesday, her mother Larysa Gromova confirmed to CTV News.
Anastasiya is one of 97 victims of the Miami disaster.
A polyglot with an adventurous spirit, Anastasiya Gromova had just finished her bachelor’s degree at McGill University and had been accepted to a program to teach English in Japan in the fall.
The young woman had travelled to Taiwan, Malaysia and to New Zealand alone, and could speak English, French, Russian and Japanese. Her family said she was in Surfside spending time with a friend of hers — another McGill student, Michelle Pazos. The remains of both Pazos and her father, who owned a condo there, have also been identified.
“It wasn’t the last trip together before Japan, it was the last trip together for all,” Larysa said. “And I believe they’re together now.”
The family could do little but wait for nearly a month as investigators combed through the scene.
"We’re still here in this mourning period that never ends,” Anna Gromova said before her remains were found. "It’s just taking too long. We’re really looking for closure. It’s just excruciating."
Anna described her sister as a driven and self-sufficient person who was curious about the world.
“I just hoped we had more time together, but I’m also grateful for the time we had,” she said.
“She was like a star that burned bright and fell fast. Everything was over way too fast.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.