MIAMI—The swimming pool deck of a beachfront South Florida condominium that collapsed two years ago, killing 98 people, failed to comply with the original building codes and standards, with many areas of severe strength deficiency, federal investigators said Thursday.
Investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology gave an update on the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida, during a regular meeting of the National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee. The town of Surfside is located just north of Miami Beach.
Besides design understrength, investigators reported signs of corrosion, misplaced reinforcement, and the placement of heavier and additional plant containers on the deck than those in the original plans. These and other factors led to “critically low margins against failure,” investigators said….