The condo building near Miami Beach that collapsed showed signs of “major structural damage” nearly three years ago, according to documents officials in Surfside have released.

As rescue crews continue for a third day to carefully dig through the debris in search of any possible survivors, questions are mounting over an engineering report on the building done in October 2018. That report highlighted serious concerns about the building’s structural integrity, specifically failed waterproofing and concrete cracks in columns and beams in the parking garage, according to NBC News’ Kerry Sanders.

From the Associated Press:

“While the engineering report from the firm of Morabito Consultants did not warn of imminent danger from the damage — and it is unclear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse — it did note the need for extensive and costly repairs to fix the systemic issues with the building.

It said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off.

“The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replaced the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially,” the report said.

The firm recommended that the damaged slabs be replaced in what would be a major repair.

The report also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. Some of the damage was minor, while other columns had exposed and deteriorating rebar. It also noted that many of the building’s previous attempts to fix the columns and other damage with epoxy were marred by poor workmanship and were failing.

Beneath the pool deck “where the slab had been epoxy-injected, new cracks were radiating from the originally repaired cracks,” the report said.”

 

It’s important to note that the 2018 report did not give any indication that the building was at risk of collapsing.

A lawyer for the building’s condo association, Kenneth Director, told CNN Friday people should not jump to conclusions. He said the building had just undergone a battery of inspections in recent months for its 40-year safety certification (it was built in 1981).

“Nothing like this was foreseeable. At least it wasn’t seen by the engineers who were looking at the building from a structural perspective.”

 

Meanwhile, exhausted workers continue their search for signs of life beneath the debris. 159 people remain missing, and emotions are understandably high.

CNN’s Nick Valencia reported Saturday morning that the lack of success in finding anyone trapped inside is starting to have an impact on the crews on site. At the same time, grief-stricken families are growing frustrated over the lack of any updates on the search, and with the methodical pace that digging on such unstable ground demands. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue leaders say they understand and share that frustration. They also say their teams will stay on site as long as it takes.