1 of 3 | Federal investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology on Tuesday updated their investigation into the collapse of the Champlain Towers building. They analyzed building photos like the one shown, as well as other records to find signs of distress in the building. Photo by Miami-Dade County Open Data Hub/NIST
Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A Miami area condo was showing visible signs of structural strains weeks before it collapsed and killed 98 people, federal investigators revealed Tuesday.
The update from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) comes four years after the catastrophic collapse of the Champlain Towers building in Surfside, Fla. The incident drew national headlines, leaving questions about what caused the 12-story building to suddenly fall apart.
NIST investigators determined that the collapse likely started in the building's pool deck instead of the structure of the tower, aligning with preliminary findings into the cause of the incident. Co-lead investigator Glenn Bell said that "it is more likely that the failure started in a pool deck slab-column connection," according to a news release.
Investigators used computer simulations, large-scale structural testing and signs that the building was in distress weeks before the collapse, according to the release. Those signs included a sliding glass door that had come off its frame, a horizontal crack in a planter wall and a vertical gate shifting so much that it became jammed and could not be opened.
