‘Major Damage' Warning 3yrs Before Collapse

Expert raised alert on crumbling Miami block

- Karen Rockett

An engineer warned of “major structural damage” at a Miami apartment block, three years before it collapsed killing at least four people.

As rescuers continued to hunt for survivors yesterday, it emerged Frank Morabito told building bosses that concrete was crumbling below the pool and in the basement car park.

His 2018 report said repairs were needed to maintain “the structural integrity’’ of 12-storey Champlain Towers South and its 136 units.

But work had not begun when the 40-year-old block collapsed.

Video showed the centre of the building go first, followed by a section nearer the beach in Surfside in the early hours of Thursday.