Current:Home > reviewsInvestigators say tenant garage below collapsed Florida condo tower had many faulty support columns -Summit Capital Strategies
Investigators say tenant garage below collapsed Florida condo tower had many faulty support columns
View
Date:2025-04-16 18:21:14
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Federal investigators determining why a Florida condominium tower partially collapsed three years ago, killing 98 people, said Thursday there were many faulty support columns in the tenant garage that ran below it and the adjoining pool deck.
National Institute of Standards and Technology investigators told an advisory panel that tests show that some of the steel-reinforced concrete columns at Champlain Towers South were half the strength they should have been and were not up to construction standards in 1980 when the 12-story tower was built. The steel in some had become moderately to extremely corroded, weakening them further.
Investigators have also confirmed eyewitness reports that the pool deck fell into the garage four to seven minutes before the beachside tower collapsed early on June 24, 2021, in the Miami suburb of Surfside. Thursday’s meeting was in Maryland and streamed online.
Glenn Bell, one of the lead investigators, stressed that the results are preliminary and will not be official until all tests are completed and the final report issued next year.
“The implications of our recommendations are very large, and we feel pressure to get this right,” Bell said. “Bringing about the changes that may be required based on the lessons that we learned may not be easy.”
The federal agency cannot change state and local building codes, but it can make recommendations.
The concrete pool deck was attached to the building, and investigators believe its failure likely damaged and destabilized the base of a support beam that ran through the tower section that first fell. When that beam failed, that caused that tower section to pancake down and a neighboring section to then fall onto it, they said.
The question remains, however, whether the pool deck collapsed on its own or something happening within the building triggered it, they said.
Evidence supporting the theory that the deck failed on its own includes photographs taken weeks before the collapse showing large cracks in concrete planters that lined the pool area. That shows the deck was already under stress, investigators said.
Evidence supporting the idea that something happening within the tower triggered the deck collapse includes surviving tenants telling investigators they heard loud banging from inside the walls before the deck failed.
Pablo Langesfeld, whose 26-year-old daughter Nicole died in the collapse with her husband, Luis Sadovnic, criticized the investigation for taking too long. He pointed out that Miami-Dade County prosecutors have said they cannot determine whether any criminal charges are warranted until the federal investigation is completed.
“I understand the complexities of such an investigation, but almost three years later, 40 employees and around $30 million spent and still not solid answers — it is not acceptable,” Langesfeld said. “It is frustrating that justice, and accountability seems nowhere in sight.”
Lawsuits filed after the collapse by victims’ families and survivors settled in less than a year, with more than $1 billion divided. The money came from several sources, including insurance companies, engineering companies and a luxury condominium that had recently been built next door. None of the parties admitted wrongdoing.
veryGood! (46)
Related
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Inside Clean Energy: In South Carolina, a Happy Compromise on Net Metering
- ERs staffed by private equity firms aim to cut costs by hiring fewer doctors
- Mission: Impossible co-star Simon Pegg talks watching Tom Cruise's stunt: We were all a bit hysterical
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- The Pandemic Exposed the Severe Water Insecurity Faced by Southwestern Tribes
- Collin Gosselin Pens Message of Gratitude to Dad Jon Amid New Chapter
- Rail workers never stopped fighting for paid sick days. Now persistence is paying off
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Unwinding the wage-price spiral
Ranking
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber Reveal If They’ve Joined Mile High Club
- Why Cynthia Nixon Doesn’t Want Fans to Get Their Hopes Up About Kim Cattrall in And Just Like That
- Looking for a New Everyday Tote? Save 58% On This Bag From Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- What Germany Can Teach the US About Quitting Coal
- A Single Chemical Plant in Louisville Emits a Super-Pollutant That Does More Climate Damage Than Every Car in the City
- HarperCollins and striking union reach tentative agreement
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Billy Baldwin says Gilgo Beach murders suspect was his high school classmate: Mind-boggling
CNN's Don Lemon apologizes for sexist remarks about Nikki Haley
Your Super Bowl platter may cost less this year – if you follow these menu twists
As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
Trump skips Iowa evangelical group's Republican candidate event and feuds with GOP Iowa governor
Trump asks 2 more courts to quash Georgia special grand jury report
Tina Turner's Son Ike Jr. Arrested on Charges of Crack Cocaine Possession