98 dead. Decades of saltwater corrosion of insufficient pool-deck reinforcement caused punching shear failure at column heads, triggering a progressive collapse.
A 2018 engineering report flagged "major structural damage" at the pool deck — concrete spalling, exposed rebar — but no remedial work was completed before failure. On 24 June 2021, the pool-deck slab punched through column K11. The collapse propagated through the building due to an absence of structural redundancy.
Cover concrete had carbonated and chloride-ingress corroded the reinforcement to ~50% original area. The original design had no allowance for cover degradation in marine exposure. Crack-width control per modern codes (≤ 0.2 mm for severe exposure) and durability detailing per IS 456 Annex F would have extended service life.
Crack-width and cover-to-reinforcement check for severe / extreme exposure conditions.
Open Section Design