TAMPA, Fla. — Rescue crews from across the globe are on the ground in Surfside, Florida, searching through layers of concrete, metal and debris for the more than 150 people still missing. As of Monday morning, nine victims have been identified.
As search and rescue crews continue their efforts, the town of Surfside is recruiting a team of engineers to figure out why the 12-story building came crashing down in the middle of the night.
Allyn Kilsheimer has been hired to consult on the Champlain Tower South partial building collapse. He's worked at major disaster sites, including the Pentagon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Miami Dade College garage collapse. After an initial walk-through of the Champlain East and North towers, Kilsheimer says he saw no visible evidence of any major structural concern, according to a press release.
Although the focus right now remains on rescue and recovery efforts, many are asking how something like this could happen. One of those people is John Pepper, president of PE Group Consulting Engineers. Pepper has more than 50 years of experience and says he's never seen anything like what happened in Surfside, despite working several structural collapse investigations throughout his career.
"This is something that is very major. We're in uncharted territory. This hasn't happened before," said Pepper.
He gave some insight as to what investigators and engineers will be searching for to figure out why the 12-story condominium building came down. "In my experience, it's a rule that you don't see major damage without minor damage, so it was likely multiple factors," explained Pepper. He says engineers will be examining the way the pile of rubble sits now and its position in regards to how the building stood before. "The way the columns fell, the ones that aren't completely crushed will fall left or right, they'll be pushed or pulled in certain ways," he said.
Forensic engineers will also look at the foundation, concrete, evidence of leaks, groundwater and focus on corrosion from the salty ocean air. "They'll be looking for things that don't look right, columns that are broken, how they're broken and corrosion on the columns which is quite likely a factor," Pepper said.
It could be weeks, even months before investigators can figure out what factors led up to the collapse, as the site remains active for search and rescue efforts.
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