Surfside families frustrated by new Champlain Towers findings ahead of fifth observance

Families of victims in the Champlain Towers South collapse are expressing frustration after federal investigators released new findings that, they say, offer few definitive answers just days before the fifth commemoration of the disaster.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said Monday that weeks of structural deterioration and column failures likely led to the 2021 collapse that killed 98 people. The agency's conclusions are based on two dozen simulations conducted over five years, though a final report is still pending.

NIST investigators said long-term corrosion contributed to the failure of multiple slab-to-column connections, with reduced safety margins tied, in part, to deviations from the building's original design.

For some families, the update did little to bring closure.

Martin Langesfeld, whose sister, Nicky Langesfeld, died in the collapse, said the findings were disappointing.

"They came back with pretty much nothing," Langesfeld said. "With most likely conclusions."

He also criticized the timing of the release, which came just two days before families will gather to mark five years since the tragedy.

"It's very insulting that they do this two days before the collapse commemoration, five years later," he said. "It would be different if they came back with some accountability."

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, in an interview with CBS News Miami, reflected emotionally on the aftermath of the collapse and efforts to support victims' families.

"We spared no bit of attention or energy to make sure that people felt supported," Levine Cava said.

Still, families like the Langesfelds say accountability remains elusive.

"I don't think we will ever have a conclusive answer with the way things have been run," Langesfeld said. "Unless the state of Florida steps up and says now we are going to find those accountable, as they should."

Family members of the victims are expected to gather Wednesday morning at the Surfside site for a remembrance ceremony marking five years since the collapse. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.