Miami building collapse

Editor's Note — The following is the update on the Miami building collapse. 24 now confirmed dead, still 121 unaccounted for. It is suggested by engineers that flaws in the construction are the cause of last month’s tragedy.

Twenty-four people are dead, 121 remain unaccounted for and engineers that visited the Champlain Towers South condominium have speculated that a flaw in the building’s construction could have played a significant role in the recent collapse.

It appears that less steel reinforcement had been used than originally estimated in the design of the building.

A forensic engineer hired by Surfside to investigate the tragedy, Allyn Kilsheimer, confirmed that there is evidence that less steel was used connecting the vertical columns to the horizontal slabs of concrete, securing the foundation, in the parking garage below, than what was originally planned.

A complete investigation will take several months. An inspection conducted in 2018 warned of major flaws in the original design. One engineer claimed that there was “failed waterproofing” below the pool deck.