It probably had the same materials. It probably had the same plans, and you know, people are asking me, is the building safe . And i cant tell them it is safe. I cant tell them that. Reporter the families affected by this, fred, are not only wondering about the conditions of their loved ones but also whether this could have been prevented, and were getting new details today that shine a light on the condition of the building before it collapsed. Actually, dating back to 2018. A Structural Field survey that was conducted of the condo warned of cracking in some of the columns that were in the pool deck. An engineer arguing that Major Repairs were going to be needed, repairs that were apparently going to begin before the unthinkable happened as we take a look at these images of rescue crews literally standing atop 11 stories of what used to be homes. We have a full team on the ground right now as the search for survivors continues. Lets start with cnns randi kaye. Shes not far from where
Welcome to cnns special live coverage of the tragedy near miami. Im wolf blitzer, near the scene of the 12story condo Building Collapse here in surfside, florida. And im pamela brown in washington. We have a lot of Breaking News to cover this hour, pamela. Well do it together. The Structural Engineering company that inspected the Champlain Towers in 2018 says they also gave estimates back in june of 2020 for the buildings 40year recertification. The consultant only provides Engineering Consulting services, not repair or restoration contracting, the statement said. And they also stated, and im quoting, we are deeply troubled by this Building Collapse and are working closely with the investigating authorities to understand why the structure failed. As we do so, we also continue to pray for all those impacted by this tragic event. Tonight, surfside officials are warning residents of a Sister Building, the Champlain Towers north, and theyre warning them to evacuate now. We have a full team
Heartbreaking to speak to the families, to speak to the loved ones who are still missing. It is awful indeed. Like all of the viewers, my heart goes out to them. Jim, we still dont know why or how this happened, but we are learning three years ago an engineer did raise concerns what was described as structural damage of this florida complex behind me. This triggers new concerns about the sister Condo Building just a block away. Theyre telling residents to evacuate out of that building out of an abundance of caution, and theyre also cautioning that it might take months to know for sure what went so horribly wrong here. Some Structural Engineering experts are weighing in. Theyre calling the 2018 report truly alarming. Well have much on that coming up in a few moments. Lets begin with that desperate search for survivors. Dozens are still unaccounted for and their families are growing more worried and more frustrated clearly by the minute. Cnns randi kaye is here at surfside. What are resc
Heartbreaking to speak to the families, to speak to the loved ones who are still missing. It is awful indeed. Like all of the viewers, my heart goes out to them. Jim, we still dont know why or how this happened, but we are learning three years ago an engineer did raise concerns what was described as structural damage of this florida complex behind me. This triggers new concerns about the sister Condo Building just a block away. Theyre telling residents to evacuate out of that building out of an abundance of caution, and theyre also cautioning that it might take months to know for sure what went so horribly wrong here. Some Structural Engineering experts are weighing in. Theyre calling the 2018 report truly alarming. Well have much on that coming up in a few moments. Lets begin with that desperate search for survivors. Dozens are still unaccounted for and their families are growing more worried and more frustrated clearly by the minute. Cnns randi kaye is here at surfside. What are resc
Ceiling is right on top of them. Bill we just had an update a moment ago from Emergency Officials saying they arent giving up on finding people alive in that rubble. We are listening for sounds. It is not specifically human sounds. It could be tapping. It could be steel kind of twisting, it could be some of the debris raining down. We concentrate in those areas. From below we continue with using light machinery, saws, jack hammers as we continue to tunnel through underneath. We have hope and every time that we hear a sound, we concentrate in that area. When was the last time your crews heard a sound. Throughout a night every night. Dana well hear from the mayor in a moment. Steve harrigan is live on the scene and he begins our coverage. The headline from local officials here at their Press Conference a short time ago was a figure, 159. Thats the number of people still unaccounted for. Yesterday that figure was just at 99. Now almost 50 higher. 159, that really enlarges the scope of the