Each time they came up for air, they would pray together to comfort each other.
“They were a team,” Luis said. “They counted on each other.”
Carmen held on for hours. But the heat and smoke were too much.
“It wasn’t until close to dawn that my mom’s breath didn’t have the stamina to make it any more,” Monica Ocon told CNN. Carmen died about 7 a.m. while Armando held her. The family believes it was smoke inhalation that killed her.
