Officials Find Deadly 2021 Surfside Condo Collapse Likely Began From Pool Deck

Federal investigators person shared nan preliminary results of their ongoing investigation into nan deadly 2021 Champlain Towers South condo illness successful Surfside, Fla., which apt began successful nan building's excavation deck.

The partial illness of Champlain Towers South wished that nan illness apt began from nan excavation deck, which began collapsing earlier nan remainder of nan tower, nan National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said successful a connection connected Tuesday, Sept. 9. The illness killed 98 people.

The agency said it utilized "large-scale structural testing and machine analyses" of video to find that nan illness progressed from nan excavation platform done nan tower, NBC News reports.

"It is much apt that nan nonaccomplishment started successful a excavation platform slab-column connection," nan NIST said successful a statement, adding that nan findings besides propose "the building was successful distress successful nan weeks earlier nan collapse."

The building fell astatine 1:22 a.m., erstwhile nan immense mostly of residents were asleep.

The points of illness were concentrated successful a information of nan excavation platform and a street-level parking deck. The NIST said nan parking platform "has been confirmed to person begun collapsing astatine slightest 7 minutes earlier nan tower."

Water leaked from nan ceiling of nan car shed successful an area that had galore cracks and repairs complete nan years, according to nan NIST. The travel of h2o "dramatically increased" successful nan hours earlier nan collapse.

Associate Lead Investigator Glenn Bell acknowledged during nan gathering that this has been a difficult investigation since location were “pretty wide problems pinch nan building, some successful creation and construction," ABC News reports.

"Our squad has worked tirelessly to find nan causes of this disaster and we are connected nan location stretch, but overmuch of nan very difficult activity of bringing astir alteration is still successful beforehand of us," Bell continued, per nan outlet.

Martin Langesfeld, who mislaid respective family members to nan collapse, told ABC News, "Four years. 98 dead. Nearly $40 cardinal taxation dollars spent, and we still person nary answers and nary accountability. That should beryllium nan media headline."

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Investigators initially had 12 hypotheses astir what caused nan deadly collapse, per The Miami Herald.

“The investigation has besides identified indications of nan building’s distress that were visible successful nan weeks earlier nan partial illness of nan building successful Surfside, Florida,” nan NIST's connection read.

The agency has been investigating nan illness for much than 4 years, and will officially reason nan enquiry astatine nan extremity of 2025. Investigators first recovered early grounds pointing to nan excavation platform successful 2024.

PEOPLE has reached retired to nan NIST for comment.