Florida apartment block collapse ‘entirely preventable’, says lawsuit

Search and rescue teams look for survivors at the Champlain Towers South site in Florida in June (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP)

Construction of a next-door luxury building triggered the collapse of an already fragile Florida condominium that killed 98 people in June, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Champlain Towers South victims and family members, contends that work on the adjacent Eighty Seven Park tower damaged and destabilised a building in dire need of major structural repair.