SURFSIDE, Fla. – As rescuers sifted through the debris of a collapsed Florida condo building Monday in desperate hope of finding survivors, questions about what brought the structure down only intensified.
The death toll from the collapse rose to 11 after first responders pulled two bodies from the site Monday, said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who updated the number of fatalities from 10 at an afternoon news conference. Four victims were taken out of the Champlain Towers South rubble Sunday. Levine Cava said 150 people remain unaccounted for.
Amid the shock and grief caused by the catastrophe, some hints about its possible origin are starting to emerge.
An April letter from the building's condo association president said damage to the basement garage had “gotten significantly worse” since an inspection less than three years ago, and that deterioration of the building’s concrete was “accelerating.” The letter, obtained by USA TODAY, also said the estimated cost for the repair had increased from $9 million to more than $15 million.
An October 2018 report following the inspection by the engineering firm Morabito Consultants had warned of major structural problems at the Surfside high-rise, but a month later a town building official told board members the structure was in “very good shape,” according to minutes of that meeting released Monday.
