A Florida condo tower's collapse may have begun on its pool deck

In an aerial view, a cleared lot where the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building once stood is seen on June 22, 2022, in Surfside, Fla., a year after the tragic event where 98 people died when the building partially collapsed in 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI — Federal experts say their investigation of the partial collapse of a Florida condominium tower is focusing on the failure of the building's pool deck. It's been two years since a section of the Champlain Towers South building fell in Surfside, killing 98 people.

In what they're calling their "leading failure hypothesis," a team with the National Institute of Standards and Technology says the condo's concrete columns and pool deck were constructed improperly and didn't meet building codes.