Rescue conditions remain dangerous as search efforts continue

CNN —

As rescuers begin their sixth day searching through the debris of a deadly Florida condo collapse, families of the missing are desperately seeking information about their loved ones and investigators are on the scene trying to figure out the cause.

At least 11 people have died in the Champlain Towers Collapse, and 150 remain missing following the tragedy. More than 136 people have been accounted for, according to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The deceased victims range in age from 26 to 82.

“We’re not giving up hope. We’re there every day,” Rachel Spiegel, whose mother Judy Spiegel is missing, told CNN’s Don Lemon on Monday. “I’m concerned that it’s been five, almost six days and we found 11 people and there are still 150 missing,” she added.

A six-person team of federal officials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – consisting of scientists, structural engineers and a geotechnical engineer – is conducting a preliminary investigation of the collapsed building’s materials, history and applicable building codes at the time the condo was built, the ground surrounding the building and numerous other factors, according to an agency official.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

People join together in a community twilight vigil on the beach for those lost and missing during the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building Monday.

As investigators converge on the scene, questions keep coming up about the building’s structural integrity. A 2018 report from an engineering firm showed severe structural damage to the concrete slab below the pool deck and “cracking and spalling” located in the parking garage.

Spalling is a term used to describe areas of concrete that have cracked or crumbled.

Residents of the building also had raised concerns over tremors during construction of a nearby building in 2019, according to documents obtained by CNN and interviews with the family members of people missing in the collapse.

Donna DiMaggio Berger, an attorney for the condominium board, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday that she didn’t think the building was in a state of disrepair prior to its collapse.

“We have months and years to dig into what happened, and we’re going to. The board is already in the process of hiring an engineer to also try to figure out what happened, and they will be evaluating who’s responsible.”

The condo owners were facing assessments for $15 million worth of repairs to the building, with payments set to begin July 1.

The association approved the assessment in April to complete repairs required under the county’s 40-year recertification process, according to documents obtained by CNN.

While there are no clear answers on the cause, early signs point to some failure in the lower reaches of the 13-story building, perhaps in its foundation, columns or underground parking garage, according to experts.

Forensic engineers will need to examine the ground-floor columns in their investigation, Sinisa Kolar, a Miami-based engineering executive, told CNN.

He explained that samples of concrete will need to be tested to examine the condition and then those samples will need to be cross-referenced with structural drawings.