Resident of collapsed Florida building says he’s alive only because girlfriend persuaded him to stay with her

Erick de Moura expected to be in his Champlain Towers South condo at the time much of it collapsed.

The only reason he wasn’t: His girlfriend persuaded him to stay with her.

De Moura and his girlfriend, Fernanda Figueiredo, say they believe he is alive because he was not in his unit in the building that collapsed early June 24 in Surfside, Florida.

“I was right at her door, about to leave. And for some reason, she just asked me to stay” in her home nearby, de Moura told CNN’s John Berman in Surfside on Tuesday morning.

TOPSHOT - Members of the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue team look for possible survivors in the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 27, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. - The death toll after the collapse of a Florida apartment tower has risen to nine, the local mayor said on June 27, 2021, more than three days after the building pancaked as residents slept. "We were able to recover four additional bodies in the rubble... So I am confirming today that the death toll is at nine," Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters in Surfside, near Miami Beach, adding that one victim had died in hospital. "We've identified four of the victims and notified next of kin." (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP) (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

The latest on the partial building collapse near Miami

De Moura was at Figueiredo’s home on the night of June 23 to watch a Copa America soccer match between his native Brazil and Colombia on TV with friends.

After the game, he got up to leave. But Figueiredo – in a situation unusual for a Wednesday night – did not have one of her children at home. He had some appointments to attend to in the morning, but she saw an opportunity for them to spend some time together, they said.

“I wanted to take a shower and sleep comfortably. But she kept insisting for me to stay,” de Moura said.

“And when I woke up at 5:30 (a.m.) to check my phone to set up my alarm to wake up for my appointment, I had some notifications” telling him something had happened, de Moura said.

He saw a message from a woman who worked in the condo building, asking ‘Are you OK?’ He called her, and she told him the building collapsed.

“You’re half awake, half asleep, and somebody tells you that your home collapsed. A building in (the) Miami (area). You just don’t believe it,” he said.

Figueiredo told CNN she also has trouble comprehending what happened.

“It’s so unreal that a building like this” could collapse, she said. “He could (have been) there a few hours before.”

Excavators dig through the remains from the Champlain Towers South building on July 9.

Wooden hearts with victims' names have been put up at the memorial site near the building's remains.

Nuns from the St. Joseph's Catholic Church pray at the memorial site on July 7.

A member of a search team moves rubble at the site on July 7. Authorities transitioned from search and rescue to search and recovery after determining "the viability of life in the rubble" was low, Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said.

Workers gather for a moment of silence and prayer after it was announced that rescue efforts would transition to a recovery operation.

A member of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue hugs victims' family members and friends at the memorial near the collapsed building.

Crews work at the site of the collapsed building on July 6.

Members of a search-and-rescue team comb through the debris on July 5.

A memorial is seen near the spot where the building used to be. The rest of the building was demolished on July 4 so that authorities could continue to look for survivors safely, officials said.

A controlled explosion brings down the unstable remains of the building on July 4.

A woman cries as she watches the rest of Champlain Towers South be demolished.

People watch a cloud of dust form as the rest of the building is demolished.

Karol Casper places a flower on the memorial wall set up near the building.

People stop at a makeshift memorial near the site.

Search-and-rescue personnel work at the site on July 2.

Residents of the Crestview Towers Condominium carry their belongings as they leave their building in North Miami Beach, Florida, on July 2. The building, about 6 miles from Surfside, was deemed to be structurally and electrically unsafe based on a delinquent recertification report for the almost 50-year-old building. The city said the move was out of an "abundance of caution," as area authorities check high-rise condo buildings following the Surfside collapse.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a memorial near the partially collapsed building on July 1. Biden traveled to Surfside to console families still waiting on news of their loved ones. Those meetings were closed to the press.

A Coast Guard boat patrols the water ahead of Biden's visit.

NBA basketball player Udonis Haslem, left, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava arrive to pay their respects at a memorial near the building on June 30.

Search-and-rescue teams look through the rubble of Champlain Towers South on June 29.

People take part in a twilight vigil near the building on June 28.

More than 3 million pounds of concrete have already been removed during the rescue operation, said Miami-Dade Fire Chief Alan Cominsky.

A woman puts flowers in a barricade as she pays her respects near the building.

Passersby look at photos of missing people.

Workers search through the rubble on June 26.

Eliagne Sanchez and K. Parker lay flowers on the beach near the partially collapsed building.

Smoke rises as rescuers continued to search for survivors on June 26.

People stand near the building on June 25.

Mourners light candles on the beach near the building.

Members of a search-and-rescue team work in the rubble.

People pray together on the beach near the collapsed building.

Firefighters battle a blaze at the collapse site.

People hug June 25 as they wait for news about their relatives at a community center in Surfside.

Rescue personnel search through the building's rubble on June 25.

Toby Fried holds up a picture of her missing brother, Chaim Rosenberg, outside the Surfside Community Center on June 25.

Rescue workers use a crane to inspect the damage.

Ariana Hevia, center, stands with Sean Wilt near the partially collapsed building on June 25. Hevia's mother, Cassandra Statton, lives in the building.

Rescue workers arrive to the scene with dogs on June 25.

Faydah Bushnaq, center, is hugged by Maria Fernanda Martinez as they stand on the beach near the building. Bushnaq, who was vacationing in South Florida, stopped to write "pray for their souls" in the sand.

The arm of an earth mover is seen during the search operations.

Rescue personnel work at the site on June 24.

Yube Pettingill talks to the media. Two of her family members were still missing.

This photo was tweeted by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue after the building collapsed.

Displaced residents are taken to a nearby hotel in Surfside.

The partial collapse left huge piles of rubble and materials dangling from what remained of the structure.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at center in the red tie, arrives to speak to the media on June 24. "We still have hope to be able to identify additional survivors," DeSantis told reporters near the scene. "The state of Florida, we're offering any assistance that we can."

Debris dangles from the building on June 24.

People hug at a family reunification center where evacuees were staying in Surfside.

The cause of the collapse wasn't immediately known.

Jennifer Carr sits with her daughter as they and other evacuees wait for news at the family reunification center in Surfside.

Rescue personnel search through the rubble with dogs.

Police stand guard on the day the building collapsed.

People on the beach look at the building after the partial collapse.

The building was constructed in 1981, according to online Miami-Dade property records.

People lie on cots at the family reunification center in Surfside.

The beachfront community is a few miles north of Miami Beach.

More than 80 rescue units responded to the scene, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.

Rescue personnel work at the site of the partial collapse.

In pictures: Deadly condo collapse near Miami

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Since the collapse, de Moura has been staying at a hotel with fellow displaced residents.

De Moura is grateful to be alive, but he and the others are in “a lot of pain.”

“Some of (the unaccounted for), we saw every day,” he said. “And even though we are not family, we saw those people almost every day.

“We join the pool and the beach together. So there’s definitely a lot of pain at this moment. I’m very grateful to be alive, but very sad for the tragedy.”