At 1:30 a.m. on June 24, 2021, 98 people were killed when the 40-year-old condominium building in Surfside, Florida, Champlain Towers South, fell. Raysa Rodriguez was located on the ninth level of an intact portion of the building.
“I am dead asleep when I hear this horrible sound that I cannot identify. It felt like a mountain was descending. Two seconds later, all I can recall is being practically flung out of bed and landing in front of it,” Rodriguez told Sharyn Alfonsi for this week’s 60 Minutes. There was also a tiny balcony. So I stepped outside, and my brain simply could not comprehend what I was seeing. I asked myself, “Where is the structure?” You know, screaming “where is the building?” at this time.
The elevators had disappeared. The stairwells were obstructed by concrete.
“There is no way for me to escape, and I believe I just realized, ‘Alright, this is the situation. I’m frightened. I don’t want to die tonight,’” Rodriguez stated.
Rodriquez began descending by assisting an elderly neighbor through dark corridors and over debris in stairwells.
It took over two hours before they reached a floor where they could be rescued by ladder.
After more than a year, the building has been reduced to a concrete scar on the ground. The victims’ names are listed on a fence surrounding the location. It consists of both retirees and young families.
And investigators are still uncertain as to why the structure collapsed.
Champlain Towers South following its collapse
The solution could be found in a vast Miami warehouse where 800 tons of Champlain Towers debris are being housed.
The facility is only accessible to federal investigators. Currently, they are scouring the twisted steel and concrete for clues.
Glenn Bell is one of the leading investigators on the team. He spoke to 60 Minutes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology headquarters, the organization leading the government probe.
Bell told Alfonsi that the investigation’s technical results were to be completed by the fall of 2023. “We must then complete our report and suggestions. We anticipate this in the fall of 2024.”
Alfonsi stated, “Many Floridians do not comprehend why this is taking so long.”
Bell stated, “I want them to know that we’re working as quickly as can.” “Moreover, the consequences of our findings are enormous. We must do things correctly.”
Bell’s team will recommend any necessary adjustments to national building rules or construction procedures based on their findings.
Bell stated, “We will be conducting extensive testing on more than 600 structural components.” “The more you put together, the more the puzzle pieces begin to surface, and the more tales emerge.”
However, Bell and his team have not yet identified any definitive solutions.
“Right now, we’re researching almost two dozen possibilities on the possible causes,” Bell added.
Possible causes include poor construction, poor design, or defective materials. Glenn Bell, a former member of the engineering team that studied the World Trade Center’s collapse after the 9/11 attacks, stepped out of retirement to solve the Surfside mystery.
“I have investigated failures for almost four decades. And I can tell that this study is one of the most complicated and hard ever conducted,” Bell said. “Oftentimes, the initial causes of building failures are readily obvious. After well over a year, there is no evidence of such a reason in Champlain Towers.”
800 tons of fragments of the Champlain Towers are kept in a warehouse in Miami.
Last spring, investigators began scanning fragments of the debris into a vast 3D database. In August, preliminary laboratory tests on building materials began. Bell stated that if investigators uncover anything that poses a threat to other structures, it will be disclosed immediately.
“Is it feasible that after the conclusion of the investigation, you won’t know what caused the building to collapse?” Alfonsi asked.
Bell expressed confidence that we would succeed. However, it will be a lengthy process.
Back in Surfside, Allyn Kilshiemer stated that the probe need not take an additional two years. The City of Surfside engaged him hours after the incident to conduct its own investigation.
“We must reach the trigger. “I always say that if you know how to listen properly, a building will speak to you,” Kilshiemer stated. “Either it finds a method to support itself, or it gives up and dies.” I cannot endorse it. I’ll crash down.’”
Kilsheimer, a prominent engineer, was a member of the inquiry teams following the bombings of the Oklahoma City federal building and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Kilsheimer stated in Surfside that he is about eight months behind schedule. This is due to the fact that he is currently negotiating with federal investigators for authorization to conduct his own testing on the building samples stored in the warehouse.
“I’ve never run into it before,” Kilsheimer told Alfonsi.
“Not affiliated with the Pentagon? Not with the bombing of Oklahoma City?” Alfonsi asked.
“I’ve never run into it before,” Kilsheimer added. It is really unusual.
Kilsheimer was not permitted to conduct his first major on-site test until August of this year.